"Hey, I'm Biking Here..."

Sometimes stories happen in surges. Earlier this month a cyclist in DC was deliberately hit by a driver, yelled at and then left in the street. And the incident was recently repeated in almost the exact same place. 

At about 3 a.m. last Sunday morning the cyclist reports riding his bike southeast on Florida Ave NW towards North Capital. At Rhode Island Ave, a man in a white 4-door car (possibly a Lexus) said, "Gimme your bike" in a hostile tone. The cyclist ignored it and kept biking towards his house. At R St and Florida Ave, the white car caught up to him. At about 20 mph the driver hit him from the side and drove off. The cyclists was lucky to keep from falling. He chased the car for about a block to get the license plate, but was unable to catch up. He's OK but for a bruised arm. He reported it to the police, but without a plate (or some video) I can't imagine they'll catch the driver. Even with the plate catching the driver seems problematic.

There was another confrontation between a cyclist and a driver in Vienna. The cyclist contacted the police claiming they'd been cut off by a vehicle at the intersection of Mill Street and Church Street, N.E. 

After confronting the vehicle’s driver, the bicyclist reported being verbally abused. The vehicle’s driver then attempted to push him off the roadway before fleeing.  An officer was able to locate the vehicle’s driver and interview him. “The driver’s version of the events contradicted the bicyclist’s version,” police said.

Both parties were advised of how to obtain warrants.

And while I'm at it, a cyclist was injured when she was hit by a Georgetown bus yesterday.

“The cyclist was not seriously injured and she admitted to being at fault in the incident,” he wrote. “The GUTS driver called for an ambulance to assure that she was not injured. A police report was taken, and the driver was not cited. EMTs checked out the cyclist and put a bandage on her knee.”

So, be careful out there.

Photo by Chuck Thies

Comments

[bArlington]

Yeah, "be careful out there." It's always your fault. Automobile drivers are never held responsible. Your story will always be contradicted. - - - you're on your own.