OCEANSIDE, Calif (KGTV) — A hit-and-run crash involving a bicyclist on State Route 76 is raising questions about the safety of some bike routes in San Diego County.
On March 17, Tracey Gross was struck by a driver, who then left the scene, according to the Oceanside Police Department. Gross was riding her bike along the bike route on State Route 76 in Oceanside at 11:30 P.M. when the crash occurred.
"That was just her means of transportation. She loved riding her bike," said Helen St John, a friend and coworker, at the crash site vigil Sunday.
St John doesn't blame her friend for what happened. "She was just riding her bike home," St John said.
Authorities said the driver of a white or silver 2013-2015 Kia Optima crashed into Gross on SR-76 near Singh Way. Gross was taken to the hospital, where she died on Friday.
The driver has not been found. Police believe the driver may live in the neighborhood.
Now, flowers, a wooden cross, and a memorial ghost bike sit by the road in memory of the postal worker and mother of two.
Unfortunately, Gross' new ghost bike setup is not the only one on that stretch of SR-76.
About 200 yards up the road, a ghost bike is out for marine Paul Cornish. Cornish was hit and killed by a driver while riding his bike in 2017.
"Having a cyclist sharing the road is only safe when we are at very low speeds, like 15 to 20 miles an hour maximum," said Chloe Lauer of the San Diego County Bicycle Coalition. "After that we need vertical protection."
The stretch of SR-76 has a designated bike route. But according to online data from San Diego Association Of Governments, at least eight bicyclists were hit and injured along the highway from 2017 to 2022.
"With those speeds for cars, we must have a vertical separation," Lauer said. "As we say in the industry, paint is not infrastructure. So yes, we agree that that is not a safe condition."
The California Department of Transportation told ABC 10News it is working on a rehabilitation project on SR-76 that will include safety improvements.
A spokesperson said that could eventually include changes to the bike route. Construction is not scheduled to begin until 2026.
