LEUCADIA, Calif. (KGTV) - Roberta Walker, Executive Director of the Cardiff 101 Main Street Association and longtime advocate for more bike lanes, was hit by a truck while riding her bicycle Saturday morning in the Leucadia community of Encinitas.
Walker was riding past the Leucadia post office on North Coast Highway 101 just past 6 a.m. when she was rear-ended by a truck, according to a Sheriff's Department spokesperson. They would not release any formation about the driver.
Walker is currently in critical but stable condition. She underwent a second skull surgery Monday morning, and has also had a lung operation.
Friends say Walker was a beloved and active member of the Encinitas community who has campaigned for increased safety along the North Coast Highway 101 corridor. In particular, she is a supporter of the plan known as the Leucadia Streetscape, which would remove one lane of traffic in each direction, replaced by bike lanes and roundabouts. Supporters say the plan would make the area much safer for those traveling by means other than automobiles.
While the plan was approved by the city of Encinitas in 2010, it has been held up by years of battling over the details. That includes a lawsuit filed earlier in 2018 by residents who say the Streetscape plan would make traffic worse in the area and make it more difficult to access nearby beaches.
"There is a certain amount of resistance to that chance," says Kellie Shay Hinze, a friend of Walker's. "But I hope what's clear now is this is an emergency."
Hinze says this was the second near-fatal injury along the same corridor in the last year.
