Former Olympian Becomes Latest Bicycling Fatality for Orange County

According to this CrimeVoice.com article, former track and field Olympian (and Moroccan native) Amine Britel was riding eastbound on San Joaquin Hills Road between Newport Ridge Drive-West and Spyglass Hill Road when he was hit by a Volkswagen Jetta.

Although paramedics were called to the scene, they were ultimately unable to revive Britel, who either died at the scene or en route to a medical facility (the details of the case haven’t been published).

Britel was, by all accounts both a consummate athlete and a talented businessman. He was not only a former track and field Olympian, but also a world-class triathlete and professional soccer player. He had degrees from both Harvard and UC Berkley, and was the owner of a small business in Newport Beach.

The driver of the white Jetta, 22 year old Danae Marie Miller, faces charges of gross vehicular manslaughter while intoxicated. Her numerous other traffic tickets include (since 2005): speeding, failure to stop at a stop sign, and talking on her cell phone while driving. She is currently out on a bail of $100,000.

Unfortunately, Britel’s untimely death isn’t the first to happen in this area of Orange County; since 2009 there have been four other vehicle-related bicyclist fatalities.