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# Santa Monica cyclist Scott Bleifer killed in Malibu crash on Pacific Coast Highway
- URL: https://www.smdp.com/santa-monica-man-to-be-put-to-rest-today-an-avid-cyclist-scott-bleifer-died-on-saturday-riding-the-scenic-pacific-coast-highway/
- Published: 2005-09-15T15:00:00.000Z
- Updated: 2026-10-23T07:47:08.000Z
- Author: Guest Author
- Tags: Community, Malibu, #archive-import

*Arthritis Foundation dedicating SF to SM bike ride to fallen cyclist*

*By ROBERT FATURECHI Special to the Daily Press*

Scott Bleifer usually cycled in packs, but last Saturday the 41-year-old Santa Monica resident decided to go it alone — a choice he’ll never get a chance to regret.

As he rode along Pacific Coast Highway — with cars whizzing by on one side — Bleifer, a man those who knew him describe as likable to everyone he met, came across another sole cyclist, Stanislav Ionov.

The two rode together until their morning rides took a sudden tragic turn, when at about 10 a.m., a catering truck hit them on the northbound side of the road near Pepperdine in Malibu. The two cyclists were tossed 150 feet and died shortly after.

Bleifer’s sudden passing has sent shockwaves through the cycling community, organizers from his charity of choice — the Arthritis Foundation — and his family.

“I said ‘tell me the truth, is he alive?’” said Bleifer’s sister, Karen, recalling a phone call from a UCLA social worker after the accident. “She said ‘no he’s deceased.’”

Bleifer, a vice president at Union Bank of California in downtown Los Angeles, was putting in some extra miles to prepare for the Amgen California Coast Classic Bike Tour, an annual ride from San Francisco to Santa Monica that benefits arthritis charities, a cause Bleifer had participated in for three years.

Officials at the Arthritis Foundation have dedicated this year’s ride to the fallen cyclist after hearing the bad news.

“Scott was actually a good friend of mine, as well as an incredible ambassador for the foundation,” said Amy Robertson, the foundation’s vice president of campaign development, who called Bleifer a mentor. “Saddened by this is not really the word. We’re very upset about what happened.”

Robertson said Bleifer was one of the safest riders she knew, a model for beginning cyclists.

“This is something that happened that never should have,” Robertson said. “It was of no fault of his own.”

Many of his friends are expected to don shirts and wristbands honoring their buddy during the arthritis ride, which begins Sept. 24 and ends Oct. 1\. Though the ride will be dedicated to Bleifer, specifics of the dedication ceremony have not yet been finalized, but organizers say moments of silence to open and close the ride are likely.

The catering truck’s driver did not immediately stop after hitting Bleifer and Stanislav because he said he was afraid he’d injure someone cooking in back of the truck, which is illegal. The driver has been charged with two counts of felony vehicular manslaughter and felony hit and run, according to friends.

Though Bleifer was not married, his sister described him kiddingly as a playboy.

“He had several girlfriends but none of them knew about each other,” she said.

Bleifer had cycled for more than a decade but he got serious within the past five years and often took the PCH route, where more than eight cyclists have been injured this year.

Bleifer, though described as businesslike by those who knew him, had his quirks, which his sister recalled fondly.

He loved art but he had the penmanship of a “serial killer,” she said.

His schedule was like clockwork. Friends always knew where he was: The beginning of the day at Peet’s coffee shop on Montana Avenue, early morning cycling and during the day, at the bank.

And everyone loved his dog, Kona, a sad-eyed chocolate labrador.

“He made so many friends (at Peet’s),” Bleifer’s sister said. “I’m getting hundreds of people emailing.”

Karen Bleifer expects hundreds at her brother’s funeral, open to the public today at 2 p.m. at Hillside Memorial Park, located on 6001 Centinela Ave. in Los Angeles.

Bleifer is survived by his mother Charlene, his father Selvyn and Karen, his sister.

*Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on September 15, 2005.* [Read the original PDF.](https://s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com/smdp%5Fbackissues/091505.pdf?ref=smdp.com)