I was ambushed

Let's just say I found another reason to wear a helmet while riding.

I was about a mile from home (Irving Park Road & Sheridan Road in Chicago) when car A cut me off to make a right turn in front of me. She winged me with her car and, when I tried to catch my balance, my chain skipped the ring. The driver of the car is yelling at me to go (which I couldn't do since my chain was still messed up) and then the driver of car B, who didn't like the fact he was being delayed, hopped out of his car, came up from behind and sucker punched me in the head without saying a word. He then proceeded to continue punching me until he had me and my bike on the ground. (It's tough to fight back when you're still clipped in and wearing big ol' expedition weight mittens.) 

Anyways, a lot of people saw what was happening. The woman in the car behind hopped out of her car and got his license plate (thanks April!) and a fourth car took chase after the culprit and his group (there were 3 people with him) fled once they saw they had an audience. (But not before stealing one of my mittens.)

Long story short, Chicago Police came and were very nice but, because it was an out of state plate (no one knows what state) and because they couldn't find the car (which had, strangely, parked around the corner for a while before fleeing) they said there's not a lot they can do other than file a battery report. One of the officers did find my stolen mitten. Seems the perp decided to dump it in the road down the block since they didn't want to be caught with evidence.

I'm a bit stiff and my poor Hampsten is a bit scuffed, but fortunately damage doesn't look too severe. I haven't given my bike the once over yet (it's still covered in road grime from today's ride) and my kit is a bit grubby from the city street, but I'm taking it easy for the rest of the day and will deal with that stuff later. Guess it's good I had on so many layers.

But if you see a light colored car with the license plate VQL543 (CORRECTED), the guy's a real dirtbag. And wanted for battery.

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Permalink Reply by El Dorado on January 15, 2014 at 4:26pm

Soccer moms in SUV's are very dangerous also. I think it is safe to assume that certain types of people are attracted to certain types of automobiles. The typical BMW owner is over extended on credit and it spending more than they earn. Which makes them aggressive and dangerous drivers.

Permalink Reply by David Altenburg on January 15, 2014 at 5:06pm

(Rush hour) drivers are usually (stuck blocking the intersection), so I usually try to (squeeze by) them.

David P. said:

(_______) drivers are usually (________), so I usually try to (_________) them.

Let's play!

Permalink Reply by Cheryl on January 15, 2014 at 5:23pm

A number of states don't use "q" on license plates in order to avoid confusion with "O." I wonder if the plate was altered or perhaps misread/misremembered. Hard to know without knowing which state it was from, but might be worth considering.

Permalink Reply by Homebuilt on January 15, 2014 at 6:00pm

I have given a perfectly good license plate in a physical assault and then had the police officer tell me that I had to be able to identify the driver as well. I'm pretty convinced they just don't want to help bicyclists. I have never had a good outcome with police in Chicago when it involved a bicyclist, sorry to be pessimistic.

Permalink Reply by Tom Z on January 15, 2014 at 6:26pm

That makes a lot of sense. Anyone could have been driving the car.

Homebuilt said:

I have given a perfectly good license plate in a physical assault and then had the police officer tell me that I had to be able to identify the driver as well.

Permalink Reply by Lisa Curcio on January 16, 2014 at 1:20am

As Tom Z says, in order to bring any charges they have to identify the person who committed the crime. The car did not commit the assault.  Finding the owner of the car might lead to finding the person, but unless the police officer witnessed the crime, the victim or another witness is the only one who can make the case.

Homebuilt said:

I have given a perfectly good license plate in a physical assault and then had the police officer tell me that I had to be able to identify the driver as well. I'm pretty convinced they just don't want to help bicyclists. I have never had a good outcome with police in Chicago when it involved a bicyclist, sorry to be pessimistic.

Permalink Reply by Brian on January 16, 2014 at 4:18am

In my instance, the driver can also be identified. But in any case, while it's true "the car did not commit the assault," liability issues come into play and those then fall upon the owner of the vehicle. 



Lisa Curcio 4.1 mi said:

As Tom Z says, in order to bring any charges they have to identify the person who committed the crime. The car did not commit the assault.  Finding the owner of the car might lead to finding the person, but unless the police officer witnessed the crime, the victim or another witness is the only one who can make the case.

Homebuilt said:

I have given a perfectly good license plate in a physical assault and then had the police officer tell me that I had to be able to identify the driver as well. I'm pretty convinced they just don't want to help bicyclists. I have never had a good outcome with police in Chicago when it involved a bicyclist, sorry to be pessimistic.

Permalink Reply by Lisa Curcio on January 16, 2014 at 4:24am

I hope you find the car and the driver.  What might come into play is the owner's automobile insurance.  There are so many legal issues involved in that that I can only repeat what has been said before:  you will need an attorney familiar with this area of the law.
 
Brian said:

In my instance, the driver can also be identified. But in any case, while it's true "the car did not commit the assault," liability issues come into play and those then fall upon the owner of the vehicle. 



Lisa Curcio 4.1 mi said:

As Tom Z says, in order to bring any charges they have to identify the person who committed the crime. The car did not commit the assault.  Finding the owner of the car might lead to finding the person, but unless the police officer witnessed the crime, the victim or another witness is the only one who can make the case.

Homebuilt said:

I have given a perfectly good license plate in a physical assault and then had the police officer tell me that I had to be able to identify the driver as well. I'm pretty convinced they just don't want to help bicyclists. I have never had a good outcome with police in Chicago when it involved a bicyclist, sorry to be pessimistic.

Permalink Reply by David P. on January 16, 2014 at 4:31am

Perhaps a long shot, but I do occasionally see cars with Mexican plates around the city, so there is at least some chance of that. Most of those use the ABC123 format.

And you'd better believe that if the victim had, say, been an off-duty CPD officer, CPD wouldn't be concerning themselves with details like whether the victim could identify the driver or not...

Permalink Reply by Green Machine Cycles on January 16, 2014 at 6:36am
No police camera nearby? This story is tragic and all too common. What the hell is wrong with people?
Permalink Reply by Crazy David 84 Furlongs on January 16, 2014 at 6:53am

Some drivers are intentionally bad.   A guy who characterizes himself as "Z28" (which I guess he means he drives one of those pseudo-sports cars) on a pro-car blog (Theexpiredmeter.com) has gone so far as to state that

Anyone who rides a bike on a Chicago city street has a death wish to begin with, why should I have to slow down and wait to drive around them when they get in the way like that? They are the ones who accept the risk of city streets, and they should not complain when a car passes a few inches away from them. What do they expect is going to happen when they hog road space? The city can paint all the bike lane stripes it wants, I just drive like they are not there. And driving with two wheels on the stripes also wears them away faster - See more at: http://theexpiredmeter.com/2014/01/northwest-side-residents-revolt-...

Wow.  This is the kind of attitude which we have to deal with as Cyclists.  I hope if this guy every hits someone, this posting can be tied to him to show intent.  We cyclists should mount cameras and get the police to take any kind of attack or hostile action to a Cyclist seriously.

Permalink Reply by Juan 2-3 or more mi. on January 16, 2014 at 7:54am


Dorks like that make up 66.6% of drivers attitude out there. That's why I try to avoid riding down streets like Western.



Crazy David 84 Furlongs said:

Some drivers are intentionally bad.   A guy who characterizes himself as "Z28" (which I guess he means he drives one of those pseudo-sports cars) on a pro-car blog (Theexpiredmeter.com) has gone so far as to state that

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