Forwarded to us in email. Please, share your story.
Great seeing you at the bike[Share Shore Drive Day]. What a great surprise and for a great cause. I spoke with Officer Lawson tonight - the officer who responded and came to my house after the incident. First off, he has been absolutely professional. Second, my understanding is he was going to go tomorrow morning and consult with the Commonwealth Attorney to determine if they would pursue an assault charge for this guy (a felony); if not, then he would only be charged with a misdemeanor. [Again, my info may not be 100% correct interpretation but is the best as I caught it].
According to the biking community, my understanding is this should probably be, "aggravated malicious wounding." Some in the biking community were pretty livid by the idea of a 'simple assault charge.'
Yesterday, 16 June 2009, at about 6:30pm, while biking home from work, I was
the "recipient" of a hit-and-run on E Shore Drive between Pleasure House and
the Bridge Tunnel / Northampton entrance. I was fortunate to escape with only a broken hand - but was astounded because it was intentional and maliciousness.
Short version: A guy side-swiped me as he passed me, pulled in front of me and laid on his brakes, causing me to collide into the rear of his car, breaking my hand, and topple over in the middle of the street. Once I caught up with him, he drove over my bike, hitting me again, before backing up and roaring off.
Long version: As I was biking home from work, as described above, a vehicle passed uncomfortably close--close enough I mentally recorded the vehicle and wondered out loud if the driver had been drinking. At the next intersection, I passed that vehicle and a whole line of cars that had been waiting as the light turned from red to green. As the cars accelerated and passed me, I made a point to look over my left shoulder, but only in time to be side-swiped by the right front quarter panel of that same vehicle. I was knocked off balance and brought my hand down (several times) on the hood (it felt like the middle of the hood) before my backpack was clipped by the side-view mirror.When the vehicle had passed, the driver swerved almost on to the shoulder in front of me; and laid on his brakes. I was not able to stop, slammed into the back of his car. The driver gunned the car and drove off.
Though shaken and realizing I probably sustained some injuries (since my hand was already starting to swell from the impact with the back of his car) and damage to my bike, I was able to unclip from my pedals, get back up and on the bike and began peddling after him. At the next red light I pulled in front of the vehicle, got off my bike and went to the driver's side window in an attempt to prompt him to roll down his window. I (felt like I) remained reasonably calm--I didn't knock on his window or shout any expletives.
Failing to get him to communicate, I walked back in front of the car and stood over my bike as I got my phone out and tried to turn it on to call the police (turns out my phone had a dead battery). As I looked down to note his license place the driver, to my astonishment, drove forward over my bike and actually hit me with the car (again). As I reached down and pulled my bike out from under his bumper he backed up and drove off at a high rate of speed on E Shore Drive, leaving me standing in the street with my bike.
As I turned around, I noticed a car stopped in the road in front of me. The driver explained he had seen the whole thing, had also noted his license plate and would call it in since my phone was not working.
The police informed me there were at least three other callers and at least one vehicle attempted to follow this guy for a little while. For the record, the two police officers that responded confirmed what I have been told by others about VBPD: They were extremely professional, extremely thorough and--as a result of the calls they received from other witnesses before I made it home--had already been patrolling Shore Drive looking for the vehicle.
I understand (but obviously do not agree) some drivers are frustrated by bikers and, "believe that roads are for automobiles" (PedNet Education Coordinator Robert Johnson) but the roads are a deadly place for drivers to take that frustration out. I read, and was greatly disconcerted.Note: I have the license plate, vehicle make and color as well as a good description of the individual. However, given my perception of how high emotions are running in light of recent other tragic accidents (including Dan and another friend of mine who will most likely be paraplegic after a tour bus overtook him from behind), as well as potential legal issues I cannot even conceive--thankfully, I am not a lawyer--it is probably best to leave those details out, for now.
Note: The author is an active-duty Navy LCDR... a highly credible source.
Posts
I'm pretty passionate about my safety while riding locally and stories like this scare the heck out of me. Clearly the driver had willful intentions to hurt the cyclist and he should be prosecuted to the FULL extent of the law. Something along the lines of "Assault with a deadly weapon" seems more than justified.
ReplyDeleteHowever, as a cyclist, there are some aspects to the story that make me wish that we (cyclist) would use better judgement ourselves at times. When I'm riding, my own personal safety if my PRIMARY concern. Regardless of fault, there is little chance that I will fare well with any encounter with a vehicle.
Shore drive seems to be one of the most dangerous roads to cycle and/or run on in city. While we should work with the city to try and improve the conditions, we all need to consider if riding on Shore Drive is worth the risk. From Pleasure house Road to First Landing State park there is a Multi-Use Trail (MUT) that runs parallel with Shore Drive. You are forced to get on Shore Drive for a short section before and after the Lessner Bridge.
Most cyclist do not like using MUTs, often with good reason. Being on the MUT requires that you stop or use great caution at EVERY intersecting road. There are often other cyclist and or pedestrians that present obstacles. Clearly, your average speed on a MUT is going to be considerably slower than on the main road. I suspect that statistically, MUTs would appear to be more dangerous. However, in my opinion, the use of the MUT leaves my safety almost solely in my own hands. That can not be said about riding on the main road. There are few roads and/or situation within Virginia Beach where I think the MUTs are clearly a better choice for cyclist, but Shore Drive is absolutely one of them.
Of much greater concern to me is the action of the cyclist in the story below. Both before and after he was struck by the motorist, the cyclist made decisions that were not only poor judgement both also illegal. Far and away, most drivers pass cyclist with great caution and you can often feel a sense of relief from them as they accelerate by. Passing a line of cars stopped at a light can be very frustrating for and is inconsiderate to the drivers. They already carefully passed you once, they should not be forced to do it again because cyclist passed them illegally.
To make the situation worse, the rider below knowingly, unnecessarily and illegally over took a driver that had already shown aggression towards him.
Than after he had been struck, he again chose to put himself in harms way placing himself and his bike in the direct path of the aggressor.
I want to stress that I'm not placing the blame on the cyclist, however with a better use of judgement (and obeying the traffic laws) the entire situation could have been avoided.
My and your safety while cycling is WAY MORE IMPORTANT than anything else.
Greg