Cyclist killed





WHEELS—Carol Shreder on one of her rides in the mountains.

WHEELS—Carol Shreder on one of her rides in the mountains.

An avid local bicyclist on her weekly ride in the Santa Monica Mountains was killed Dec. 3 when a van pulling a trailer jackknifed into her lane.

The accident occurred at about 9:30 a.m. last Saturday as Carol Shreder of Topanga was riding east on Mulholland Highway near Kanan Road. She was hit by a van driven by Stafford Taylor of Malibu, the Highway Patrol said.

The fatal chain of events started when a vehicle in front of the van suddenly braked, said Leland Tang of the CHP.

“It was clearly an accident. Just the wrong place at the wrong time,” Tang said.

The incident occurred about 50 yards from the Mulholland and Kanan intersection near Calamigos Ranch.

The driver of the van appeared to be at fault, although he wasn’t speeding or tailgating.

“ We’re still investigating and it’s still driver error, but it could have happened to the best of us,” Tang said.

The 65-year-old victim was transported to UCLA Medical Center in extremely critical condition. She died from her injuries that same night.

Longtime friend Judy Preminger said Schreder rode on the local mountain roads regularly.

“She would ride for 50 to 80 miles on Saturdays. She was an excellent and safe cyclists who did everything right. I’m thinking that she was probably headed home,” Preminger said.

A graduated from USC Film School and fellow of the American

Film Institute, Schreder was an accomplished screen writer, novelist and author.

She was part of a production team that created a television series about the Nelson Mandela era in South Africa and a writer and producer of a number of titles, including “The Burning Bed” starring Farrah Fawcett, Paul Le Mat and Richard Masur. She also worked on “Call to Glory,” a television series that aired 23 episodes during the 1980s.

Schreder was a skilled and experience athlete who also competed in marathons, triathlons and swimming events.

“She was an exemplary human being,” Preminger said.

“Her life touched so many people. She was the kind of person that almost everybody looked up to in every way for being talented and a true friend.”

Schreder was born in Connecticut. She leaves behind her mother, two siblings and extended family.

According to the cycling advocacy website BikingInLa, the accident was the 65th confirmed traffic-related bike fatality in Southern California this year and the 21st in Los Angeles County.


Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *