Unbelievable (from Asheville, NC)
Diez was driving his car off Interstate 40 at Exit 55 at about 11:24
a.m. Sunday when he saw Alan Ray Simons and his wife riding bikes up
the road with Simons' 3-year-old son behind him in a bike seat, he said.
“He decided he needed to tell them he thought it was unsafe that they would do that and have their child out there in an area where they had a lot of traffic,” Splain said.
Diez stopped his car and confronted Simons near 1360 Tunnel Road. When Simons began to walk away, Diez shot at him, Splain said.
The bullet blew a hole through the outer lining of Simons' helmet and
went straight through both sides of it, but he was not hit.
Diaz has been employed by the Asheville Fire Department since February 1992, according to interim Chief Scott Burnette. Diez has been placed on paid leave during the investigation, Burnette said.
Diaz has been employed by the Asheville Fire Department since February 1992, according to interim Chief Scott Burnette. Diez has been placed on paid leave during the investigation, Burnette said.
And a cyclist beats the bejesus out of a pedestrian with a bike lock.
I'm going to go on record and say something controversial that they
probably haven't, which is this: you really shouldn't hit people with a
U-lock. Yes, I just "went there" and there's no taking it back. I know
it's an unpopular sentiment, but I really do feel that beating somebody
about the face and head with a heavy metal object is a really
inconsiderate thing to do.
Agreed.
Diez was just trying to protect the 3-year old from further dangerous bicycling putings by shooting his father. That's logiocal thinking right there. No dad, fewer or no bike trips in dangerous areas. Seems perfectly reasonable to me.
Again a good argument for "Guns don't kill people, people kill people".
On the U-lock: maybe if we had a National U-Lock Association, the person using the U-Lock to defend his freedom from some aggressive pedestrian could sue that person. The NUA would cover the court costs. This could be the next big issue: The right to bear a U-Lock.
Posted by: Eric_W. | July 28, 2009 at 11:23 AM
BTW, that video is so fake.
A guy filming all this and all he says is "Jesus"? Camera ready and rolling just as the fight begins, not offering to help (not even yelling anything) while the beating is in progress or after the guy leaves?
Ridiculous.
Posted by: Eric_W. | July 28, 2009 at 11:34 AM
Nice title. I so far have avoided blogging this one myself but as the Asheville paper keeps doing stories each day and the locals keep spotting off about how the shooter was in the right (WTF?) I may have to have a rant myself.
Posted by: Grendel | July 28, 2009 at 12:28 PM
Wow Eric, Kryptonite just asked me to register my lock. Now I know why. It's the first step towards total confiscation. First ban the U-locks, then frame pumps, finally my little 8 mm pocket wrench.
Posted by: Jack | July 28, 2009 at 01:02 PM
Damn good thing he was wearing a helmet. Everybody should, include the guy on the wrong end of the U-lock incident.
Posted by: Lars | July 28, 2009 at 01:18 PM
OK, out of an abundance of caution: I ended my first post with the line "sarcasm off" but I must have used "<>" which is why it did not appear.
I think people got the message but I wanted to be clear. Especially after I read some of the comments to the newspaper article where someone has pretty much the same direction but without the "sarcasm" addition.
Jack, we should get together and establish the DC Chapter of the NUA.
Posted by: Eric_W. | July 28, 2009 at 01:59 PM
eric w: have you been to NYC? I'm surprised the guy even said Jesus. coming from a new yorker, the fact that he even took the time to film it seems like an overreaction to me.
Posted by: JTS | July 28, 2009 at 06:11 PM
first of all police/fire/army-type guys driving big 4x4s almost universally loose their minds when they get behind the wheel. Second, never attempt to talk to motorist while biking in the first place - they loose their minds nearly every time.
When you see some police/fire/army dude pull over in his 4x4 shouting complaints about your cycling, he most likely has it in mind to run you over from behind or shoot you in the back of the head. I would have asssumed that much already.
Posted by: Lee Watkins | July 29, 2009 at 11:33 AM
JTS: Your comment made me laugh!
Lee: You may be right. I try to be a good rider and tell drivers whenever possible about broken brake lights adn so on.
They won't run me over if I just was nice to them. (I hope)
Posted by: Eric_W. | July 29, 2009 at 11:59 AM
> try to be a good rider and tell drivers whenever possible about broken brake lights adn so on.
oh, now that's just looking for trouble.... the only time I'd ever talk to a driver is to say "i don't know", and even then it would have to be a direct question. Drivers are impatient - if you have nothing to say they'll just drive away. Nothing positive will ever result from talking to them.
And turning his back on this guy was a big mistake. Standing your ground is critical when someone is flipping out like that.
Posted by: Lee Watkins | July 29, 2009 at 12:49 PM
Lee, not sure what to respond to this except maybe that perpetuating adversarial relationships does not seem productive.
Posted by: Eric_W. | July 29, 2009 at 04:27 PM