A Driver Hit a 30-Rider Halloween Bike Ride in Montclair and Fled. Two Cyclists Are Dead. Police Say the Man They Arrested Hours Later Was Believed to Be Intoxicated.
At about 10:39 p.m. on Saturday, October 24, a car struck several of roughly 30 cyclists riding east on Kingsley Street near Tudor Avenue in Montclair, San Bernardino County, and the driver fled, Montclair police said. One rider died at the scene; a woman died at a hospital early Sunday.
Detectives found Valentin Alberto Rodriguez, 38, of Montclair, at his home and arrested him around 2:40 a.m. He has not been convicted of anything and is presumed innocent.
- 2 — cyclists killed; one more has major injuries and is stable, and a fourth had a minor head cut · Source: Montclair police, via CBS Los Angeles and Patch
- ~4 hrs — between the crash and the arrest, which police credit to witness information · Source: Patch and CBS Los Angeles
- 4 — offenses he was booked on suspicion of, including gross vehicular manslaughter while intoxicated and felony hit-and-run · Source: Patch
Witnesses told police the ride was a self-coordinated Halloween ride, not sponsored by or affiliated with the City of Montclair, and no organizer or group name has been reported. A westbound car struck riders on Kingsley Street; one was pronounced dead at 10:44 p.m., per the California Post, and a woman died at a hospital around 1:20 a.m. Sunday.
Rodriguez was booked into West Valley Detention Center on suspicion of DUI causing injury or death, driving with a blood-alcohol level of 0.08% or more causing injury or death, felony hit-and-run involving death or serious injury, and gross vehicular manslaughter while intoxicated, per Patch and CBS Los Angeles. Police have not released a blood-alcohol reading.
The detail that carried the story to national outlets, that a victim was dragged more than a mile, was reported by KTLA and repeated by other outlets. The police release did not address it, and TMZ’s summary says it is unclear whether the dragged victim is among the dead. This page reports it as KTLA’s account and no more.
The charge list matters to the next step. Gross vehicular manslaughter while intoxicated, the most serious of the booked offenses, is not a murder charge, and what prosecutors ultimately file may differ from what police booked on suspicion.
San Bernardino County District Attorney Jason Anderson — Decides what is filed. The office is nonpartisan and we found no party registration; he ran unopposed in June 2026 for a third term. We found no statement from him on this case.
Montclair Police Department — Investigating, and the source of most reports through its own release. No police chief, mayor or council statement was found.
Bail, an arraignment date and a formal complaint had not been reported by Sunday afternoon. Whether a court sets bail, and whether the district attorney files the booked counts, are the decisions to watch. No source states the driver’s prior record or license status, so none is assumed here.
Two people are dead after a driver hit a group ride and left, and police booked a man on suspicion of drunk-driving manslaughter within hours. Charges, bail and the dragging report are all still unconfirmed, and he is presumed innocent.
