James William Rodewald, a 55-year-old resident of Lakewood, died yesterday at a local hospital after his motorcycle collided with a black BMW sedan on Monday.
According to witness and accident reconstructions released by the Long Beach Police Department, Rodewald was ejected from his motorbike after a failed attempt to pass the sedan on the left side. They were both traveling north bound on Clark Ave., when the motorbike collided with the vehicle’s left rear bumper, causing Rodewald to be ejected from his vehicle.
The driver of the back BMW failed to stop after the accident and was briefly followed by a witness’ car. He and a passenger were last seen heading northbound on Bellflower Blvd. from Willow St.
Police have no information on the suspects except that they appeared to be male, said Lisa Massacani of LBPD. The motorcyclist, who exhibited only minor, non-life threatening injuries at the time, was succored by witnesses and transported to a local hospital where his conditioned progressively worsened. He was pronounced dead yesterday.
The police are seeking the help of the public to identify the newer-model BMW sedan, which should show some damage to the left rear bumper.
This is the first motorcycle fatality in the city since LBPD announced another increase in its motorcycle-safety patrols a month ago.
Anyone with information regarding this incident is asked to call Long Beach Police Department Accident Investigations Detail Detective Sirilo Garcia at (562) 570-7355. Anonymous tips may be submitted via text or web by visiting www.tipsoft.com.