CARLSBAD — The city is reeling after a Carlsbad woman riding an e-bike with her 16-month-old child was struck and killed by a vehicle on Aug. 7 at the intersection of Basswood Avenue and Valley Street.
The victim, Christine Hawk Embree, 35, was cycling at approximately 5:45 p.m. on Aug. 7 with her infant daughter Delilah when she collided with a 42-year-old woman driving a Toyota 4-Runner. Embree’s daughter survived without injury despite being thrown from her mother’s e-bike.
The identity of the driver, who remained at the scene after the fatal collision, has not been released, according to a spokesperson with the Carlsbad Police.
While police have determined drugs and alcohol were not a factor in the incident, the cause of the crash remains under investigation. Embree, who suffered serious injuries, was transported to a local hospital, where she died the following day, according to police.
No more information has been made available.
A memorial for Embree was held on Aug. 14 at the intersection where the incident occurred on the northwest corner of Carlsbad High School property. A GoFundMe page was organized for the surviving members of the Embree family, totaling more than $120,000 in donations to cover funeral expenses.
Last month, Bob Embree, Christine’s husband and a firefighter with the Orange County Fire Authority, spoke to the Carlsbad City Council on July 19 about concerns over the high frequency of vehicles speeding through his neighborhood off Tamarack Avenue near Valley Middle School.
Several accidents have occurred in the same area in the past three months, including an incident involving a driver smashing a vehicle into six cars and an electrical transformer.
“We have young kids that walk to school there,” Bob Embree told the council. “Speed bumps, roundabouts, stop signs, anything to save a life. All I’m asking is if we can slow traffic down and save a life.”
In the neighborhood, the city recently installed bulb-outs, or curb extensions, and a new light system, which isn’t activated. But some residents expressed concerns with the new layout.
Many believe the bulb-outs make the intersection at Valley Drive and Tamarack Avenue more dangerous by forcing large vehicles, turning from Valley Drive west onto Tamarack, to cross into the far lane.
The bulb-outs extend the sidewalk into the parking lane to narrow the roadway and eliminate bike lanes, creating potential dangers for cyclists and motorists at the intersection.
Remembering Christine
The memorial for Christine Embree on Aug. 14 was filled with flowers, notes and a shirt and hat from an Orange County fire agency. The notes remembered her as a sweet and loving mother, wife and friend.
Greg Demgen, who worked with Embree at Squadra, a custom cycling apparel company, recalled his friend Christine Embree, or “Chawky,” as one always with a smile and “awesome” to be around.
Others prayed and gave thanks for the survival of Delilah, whose survival was repeatedly called a “miracle” by attendees.
According to Dave Kachorek and Pauline Lucas, who organized the GoFundMe, Delilah, wearing a helmet in a bicycle seat, was “thrown clear” from the collision but found to be unharmed.
“By coming to this page, you know the bright light of our lives, Christine Hawk Embree,” the GoFundMe reads. “You also know that there are no words to describe the amazing individual, mother, wife, and friend she was. Christine’s husband Bob received the phone call every first responder fears. While on duty as a firefighter serving the citizens of Orange County, his beloved family had suffered a tragic accident at home.”
Just one week after Embree’s fatal collision, another cyclist was killed on Aug. 15 after a motorcyclist and passenger fleeing from a California State Parks officer collided with a cyclist on Carlsbad Boulevard at Palomar Airport Road and Island Way, according to Carlsbad police.
The victim died at the scene, and the motorcycle passengers were taken to a local hospital with serious injuries, according to a statement from law enforcement.
Anyone with information about the incident, please get in touch with the police at 442-339-2282.
