Tehachapi News

Bear Valley cyclist killed in Malibu during long ride

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Bear Valley Springs resident Rodrigo Armas, 45, died June 28 during an endurance bicycle ride in Malibu after a vehicle struck him.

Armas’s 14-year-old son Christian, riding alongside his dad in the 200-mile event, was injured at the same time.

According to the Malibu/Lost Hills Sheriff Station report, the boy suffered several broken bones. He was transported to UCLA Medical Center in stable condition.

The elder Armas was pronounced dead at the scene from traumatic injuries.

The vehicle struck the riders at 1:27 a.m. as they rode eastbound on the shoulder of Pacific Coast Highway just west of Zuma Beach.

The Sheriff’s Department identified the vehicle’s driver as Robert Sam Sanchez, 30.

The Sheriff’s report said that the driver fled the location and abandoned the vehicle a short distance from the collision. 

Sanchez was found and displayed symptoms of alcohol intoxication, the Sheriff’s report said.

He was arrested and booked at the Lost Hills Station on suspicion of three felony violations: gross vehicular manslaughter while intoxicated, DUI with injury and hit-and-run with injury or death.

The final charges will be decided by the deputy district attorney in Malibu who handles the case.

Traffic investigators are awaiting the results of a blood draw.

Sanchez is an employee of the city of Malibu, working as an administrative assistant.

Armas worked with juveniles

Armas was a Los Angeles County deputy juvenile probation officer who worked with youngsters at Los Angeles County Camp Ellison Onizuka in Lancaster.

“He was an outstanding man,” said Dennis Carroll, bureau chief of the probation department’s Residential Treatment Service Bureau in Downey. “Our kids tend to have not enough good role models. They could talk with him and gain some beautiful insight. They are looking for guidance.

“He will be missed by the staff and the kids.”

Armas worked with minors age 14 to 17.

Carroll said that in his capacity as probation officer, Armas would track court proceedings, prepare reports for the court relating to the minor’s behavior, determine intervention, teach life skills and decide when a minor was ready to go home.

Carroll said that other dedicated officers would step up to take care of the minors assigned to Armas.

Armas and his son were participating in the “Grand Tour” event sponsored by the Los Angeles Wheelmen bicycle club. The event began and ended in Malibu.

The father and son were participating in the “lowland double century” that started Saturday, June 27 and took them from central Malibu along Pacific Coast Highway to Port Hueneme, inland to Westlake Village, Thousand Oaks, Moorpark, Santa Paula, Ojai, Lake Casitas, to Rincon at southernmost tip of Santa Barbara County, back south on PCH to Ventura and Port Hueneme and to the finish in Malibu.

The elevation gain was 8,000 to 8,500 feet, according to the Los Angeles Wheelmen web site.

In addition to his son, Armas is survived by his wife Shelley and two daughters Gaby and Michelle, ages nine and 12.

The funeral service for Armas will be Tuesday, July 7 at 10 a.m. at the Country Oaks Baptist Church, 20915 Schout Road, said Michael Helm, funeral director of Wood Family Funeral Service in Tehachapi.

Burial will be the following week at the Bakersfield National Cemetery.

Armas served in the Marine Corps Reserve and held a bachelor's degree in biology.

Posted July 1, 2009; print edition Vol. 110, No. 13, July 8, 2009.