Early in the morning on June 22, 2024 a young man cycling to work on Fulton Road was assaulted by a driver, who used his SUV to knock him over and push him across the pavement after yelling at him to “get the F$#! off the road!” The driver only backed off when a Good Samaritan approached. The victim was severely injured and awaits further surgery at Memorial Hospital; if a witness hadn’t appeared, he could have been killed.

This driver has committed reckless driving, assault with a deadly weapon, and felony hit-and-run. He needs to be found and held accountable, for the safety of the entire community (not just cyclists).

Rates of hit-and-run have been steadily increasing, with 64% of hit-and-run fatalities consisting of pedestrians and cyclists. While reliable data is unavailable, recent reports suggest that intentional vehicular assault against cyclists is also increasing. Many of these victims report that they’ve received negative or dismissive reactions from law enforcement, resulting in a decrease in reporting. This is unacceptable.

WE THE UNDERSIGNED urge the California Highway Patrol to thoroughly investigate this crime (checking security cameras, canvassing the neighborhood, etc.), demonstrate that CHP takes harassment of cyclists seriously, and bring this criminal to justice.