Bicyclist Struck with Plastic Bat
November 2, 2005
Richard Perry, a friend of ORbike, recently relayed to us this story of an incident with his wife and asked that we spread the word:
Two weeks ago my wife, Lisa, was riding her bicycle on Tile Flat Rd. in
Tigard when a car approached her from behind and walloped her on the
rear three times with a small plastic baseball bat. In her shock she
managed to direct her eyes to the license plate number, repeated it over
and over again, and somehow was able to call me at home.
Her panic became mine as she told me what happened. Pretty shaken, I called 911
and told the operator what my wife told me. The 911 operator then
called my wife and said to stay put. A few minutes later two Washington
County sheriffs arrived. Luckily, Lisa was able to give the officers a
description of the passenger. Shortly thereafter they found the
suspect. And to our surprise, he denied it and said that my wife was
out to get him! Yeah, sure, my wife with two kids has nothing better to
do than stock someone!!!.
Anyway, the sheriffs apparently took a mug shot of the man, and brought
a 6 photo line-up to our office where Lisa successfully identified the
man. With that, they arrested the man and now there's trial date.
What's really troubling is that Lisa said it could be a year or more
before she feels she could gather the courage to ride Tile Flat
again--quite possibly one of the best rides we do on a regular basis.
What a bummer!
We can't live in a place of fear--especially in our own native
backyard--and especially considering our growing community of avid
cyclists. I told Lisa to get on her bike and get right out there again,
but the road will never be the same for either of us.
Anyway,I thought I would reach out to my cycling community and ask for
your support and advice as to how far we should push this and what
support might look like .
Many of us have been the subject of irresponsible drivers. Rarely do we
have the wherewithal to get a license plate number and do something
about it.
Thanks, Rick
Posted by orbike at November 2, 2005 10:16 PM
Comments
"advice as to how far we should push this "
Was this bat a kids' plastic hollow toy bat, relatively harmless? Or was it a solid or heavy bat? If it at least caused a bruise, then I think you should push it all the way until the assailant is languishing in jail or prison for assault. Even if the bat is fairly harmless, they should be made to pay, as assaulting cyclists with anything at all is no laughing matter. We don't need the added aggravation of wondering what the next passing person in a motor vehicle is going to do (on top of coping with weather, hazards in the side of the road, the constant danger of inattentive drivers...), and motorists / people in cars should not be allowed to feel they can harrass us.
Posted by: organic brian at November 2, 2005 10:59 PM
When I was a teenager in New Jersey, I was driving with a friend down a fairly rural road one summer when we came upon a cyclist. My friend rolled down the passenger window and said "watch this, I'll tap him on the shoulder as we pass!"
Fortunately I was horrified at the thought and steered well clear of the cyclist while arguing with my friend. But I was reallly struck by how he simply could/would not understand how frightening and threatening such a thing would be to a cyclist.
So this terrible incident with the plastic bat just reinforces to me that some car folks really just have no conception of the power they have in that car, and no conception of how vulnerable we cyclists are. Education, education, education!
Education of the media too -- imagine the public outcry if this guy had whacked an unsuspecting _pedestrian_ with a bat. THAT probably would have been a big story. But a cyclist? Somehow, unfortunately, that comes through differently.
Posted by: quisquose at November 3, 2005 5:56 AM
I am so sorry to hear about your wife's experience. I actually passed her with the Wash Co deputies at Tile Flat and Scholls ferry that day. I was afraid that something like this could have been the reason.
In my opinion the object used has little to do with it; this should be called assault. Your wife could have easily fallen and been seriously hurt due to this intentional act. I am very impressed at her ability to control the bike and get their license number. I do think it is important to push forward to hopefully deter these people from repeating this offense.
Hopefully her fear will fade more quickly than she thinks. Best of luck and thanks for sharing this.
Dave
Posted by: Dave at November 3, 2005 6:18 AM
It absolutely doesn't matter what object they used. Any object can cause the person on the bike to wipe out and in the presence of cars that can be deadly. This is an egregious assault and you should be treated as such. Unfortunately the only tool we have for "educating" these people is the law. Best of luck. If you would like any support in this the BTA has a crash team that could help you with at least talking to the right people. www.bta4bikes.org.
Posted by: Ken at November 3, 2005 5:50 PM
While I think it's pretty horrible that someone would do that, being afraid to ride on that road again is a little much. The best thing she could do is make sure the guy pays dearly, and to get back out there and keep riding.
Posted by: Z at November 3, 2005 7:03 PM
I think this story is a little bit over dramatic. QQ more.
Posted by: Barch at November 4, 2005 1:47 AM
I have a friend that works for a lawyer in town who specializes in bike cases. If you're interested his name is: Mark J. Ginsberg, (503) 542-3000.
Posted by: pam at November 4, 2005 5:34 PM
Well, I have a friend that works for a lawyer who specializes in plastic bat cases...
Posted by: Mack A. Rooney at May 17, 2007 9:06 PM