Bicyclist Killed, Motorist Flees

A 34-year-old bicyclist was struck and killed by a vehicle in Van Nuys, authorities said Friday.

Rolf Ruthnick of North Hollywood was pedaling his 10-speed bike east on Oxnard Street near Sunnyslope Avenue at about 1:30 a.m. Thursday when a vehicle struck him from behind, Los Angeles Police Sgt. John Amott said. The driver of the vehicle fled, and police have found no witnesses to the accident, he said.

Ruthnick had left his job at the Valley Cab Co. at 1:18 a.m. and was bicycling home, his wife, Charlene, said. Ruthnick--who moved to the San Fernando Valley from Berlin, Germany, two years ago--was riding by a curb and next to a street lamp when he was struck, she said.

Paramedics pronounced Ruthnick dead at the scene, Amott said.