A ghost bike memorial for Blake Ackerman was placed at the site of the hit-and-run collision near Fountain Avenue and Gardner Street. (photo courtesy of Ted Rogers for Biking in L.A.)

A 73-year-old driver was arrested on July 15 for a fatal hit-and-run collision that killed Blake Ackerman, a 27-year-old lawyer who was riding his bicycle on Fountain Avenue. Following tips from witnesses and members of the community, the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department arrested Douglas Morton Adams and booked him on suspicion of felony hit and run causing injury or death. Other factors in the collision are still under investigation and anyone with information is asked to contact the sheriff’s department at (310)855-8850.

“Due to the help from the community of West Hollywood and all the other good Samaritans that stayed to help with this accident we were able to identify the driver,” the sheriff’s department said.

Ackerman was riding his bicycle on July 10 on Fountain Avenue near Gardner Street when Adams’ BMW struck him around 9:45 p.m. and sped away, said Shanna Meade, a Florida resident visiting West Hollywood who witnessed the incident. The death of Ackerman, a Beverly Hills High School graduate, former undergraduate vice president at the University of Southern California and litigation associate at Morgan Lewis, has reignited debates over bicycle safety in West Hollywood.

A ghost bike memorial was held in Ackerman’s honor on July 16 by Streets are For Everyone and the West Hollywood Bicycle Coalition where community and family members placed a white-painted bike at the site of the crash in his honor. Another vigil for Ackerman will be held on July 18 at 6 p.m. at Fountain Avenue and Gardner Street, followed by a rally at West Hollywood City Hall to call for safer roads for cyclists and pedestrians.

“Whether he was bringing people together, planning the next snowboard trip, cheering on the Dodgers/Kings, swimming in the oceans of Hawaii or playing water polo, Blake lived every day to its fullest,” read a GoFundMe campaign created to support Ackerman’s family. “He was the heart of his family, an adoring brother and uncle in waiting, a devoted son and grandson and an integral part of every community he joined.”

To donate, visit gofundme.com/f/remembering-blake-ackerman.

A memorial service for Ackerman was held at Mount Sinai Simi Valley on July 15. Morgan Lewis announced it would continue to represent one of Ackerman’s clients pro bono in his memory.

“Blake was an exceptional person with a contagious smile and personality – a bright rising star, full of life and positivity,” read a statement from Morgan Lewis. “Our entire Morgan Lewis community is holding Blake and his loved ones in our thoughts and hearts during this incredibly difficult time. We will miss and remember him.”

“We consider our students and alumni part of a lifelong family,” Beverly Hills Unified School District Superintendent Alex Cherniss said. “Although I did not have the privilege of knowing Blake personally, I know he represented the very best of what it means to graduate from Beverly Hills High School – academic excellence, leadership and heart.”

In 2023, the West Hollywood City Council approved a streetscape plan for Fountain Avenue and later accepted an $8.2 million California Air Resources Board grant for the redesign, including protected bike lanes. However, the protected bike lanes were not approved in the council’s original streetscape plan. The grant was narrowly accepted by a 3-2 vote with Councilmembers Lauren Meister and John Heilman opposing. At the time, Meister said she did not believe the city should accept money for something that hadn’t been approved.

“I, along with all of my colleagues, fully support critical safety improvements in our city,” Meister said. “However, the conversation around how best to improve safety on Fountain Avenue is not so simple. I have consistently expressed concerns about implementing a protected bike lane on Fountain Avenue due to its high number of driveways, the impact on parking and other practical considerations. That’s why I have strongly advocated for a comprehensive streetscape plan – one that takes these factors into account and allows us to holistically evaluate Fountain Avenue, including pedestrian safety, ADA-compliant sidewalks, parking needs and green space. The City Council majority ultimately chose to move forward with expediting a bike lane project, without a streetscape plan in place.”

Heilman also said that creating bike lanes on Fountain Avenue would create a larger problem for the thousands of people who travel to work on Fountain Avenue or the residents who park on the street.

“Advocates for the bike lanes use every tragedy to argue that we need a bike lane, but bike lanes don’t prevent people from operating vehicles at unsafe speed, nor do they prevent people from running intersections or making unsafe turns,” Heilman said.

In the wake of Ackerman’s death, West Hollywood resident Darryl Sher created a petition calling for Meister’s resignation, stating that she “has repeatedly opposed improvements to Fountain Avenue that would save lives and promote safety.” Sher added that he and his children were almost struck by a car while walking on Palm Avenue in May. The petition had 36 signatures as of 9 a.m. on July 16.

Councilman John Erickson said that his colleagues’ opposition to the funds “had more to do with politics and personal preferences about Fountain Avenue than the public good. Thankfully, a majority of the council saw the bigger picture and voted to accept the funds. Now, as we move forward with design, we’re not scrambling to find an extra $8 million for this much-needed project.”

“My heart is with the family of this cyclist and with the entire cycling community who have long been fighting for the much needed transportation safety and equity to prevent these horrific tragedies here and all across the region,” Mayor Chelsea Byers said. “The work to advance protected bike lanes throughout West Hollywood has gained significant traction and we all have to take this opportunity to transform the safety on our streets seriously to better care for all in our community.”

West Hollywood resident Nick Renteria, an advocate for protected bike lanes in the city, said that improving bicycle safety is essential for West Hollywood residents like himself who cannot afford a car and bike to work everyday. Damian Kevitt, the executive director of SAFE, said that Fountain Avenue’s inaccessible design is directly responsible for Ackerman’s death.

However, West Hollywood resident Mikie Friedman, said that more bike paths on Fountain Avenue will increase traffic and slow down emergency vehicles. Instead, the city should add more red lights or increase sheriff patrol on the street, she said, adding that she believes advocates are politicizing Ackerman’s death, and that Meister was taking a necessary, critical view of the street’s redesign plans.

“Using a tragedy like this as a political football is disgusting,” she said. “[Meister] is the best friend that the citizens of West Hollywood have.”

West Hollywood will host a Fountain Avenue Streetscape Project community meeting on Aug. 19 from 6-8 p.m. at the Plummer Park Community Center, where residents can view updated streetscape plans and share their views on the street’s conditions. Traffic enforcement along Fountain Avenue remains a “high priority,” and deputies from the sheriff’s department regularly conduct traffic safety operations on the street, with the most recent operation on July 10 resulting in 46 citations, according to a statement from the city. The city is also reducing speed limits on certain streets through the Target Vision Zero Action Plan, which aims to reduce traffic violence.

Correction: A previous version of this article incorrectly stated that Councilwoman Lauren Meister attended a rally in opposition to bike lanes on Fountain Avenue in October 2024. She did not attend the rally.