A bicycling advocate and local Democratic Party leader has been identified as the cyclist who was killed in a wreck south of Napa.
Paul Schapiro, 58, died of injuries suffered in a crash on Highway 29, according to Sgt. Doug Pace of the Napa County Sheriff’s Office.
The crash occurred at 5:38 p.m. Friday on the southbound highway north of Airport Boulevard, and involved Schapiro’s bike and a motor vehicle, Cal Fire reported earlier.
Schapiro was declared dead at the scene. The motorist was not injured, according to Cal Fire. Further details about the crash were not immediately available.
An American Canyon resident, Schapiro gained local prominence in the fields of cycling and Democratic politics. In 2014, his love of two-wheel travel — including a daily 6½-mile commute each way to his accounting job at Perfect Purée in south Napa — earned him the Bicycle Commuter of the Year Award, which the Napa County Bicycle Coalition awarded him at its annual Bike Fest.
“I hate driving. I’m cheap and I like to save money. I care about the environment and I want to stay in shape,” he said at the time, proudly adding that his 2008 Toyota Prius had fewer than 11,000 miles on its odometer.
Schapiro also served as treasurer of the Napa County Democratic Party, and in July 2008 took part in a protest against the U.S.-led war in Iraq in which members of UNCOIL — United Napans Concerned Over the Iraq Lunacy – planted white crosses near highways 29 and 221 to protest a local visit by then-President George W. Bush.
Howard Yune
Public Safety Reporter
Howard Yune covers public safety for the Napa Valley Register. He has been a reporter and photographer for the Register since 2011, and previously wrote for the Marysville Appeal-Democrat, Anaheim Bulletin and Coos Bay (Oregon) World.
