KENOSHA, Wis. – A 63-year-old Kenosha man is facing a felony charge after allegedly swerving his pickup truck at a motorcyclist and then rear-ending him during a confrontation that police and witnesses say appeared deliberate.
Mark Eugene Adams was charged in Kenosha County Circuit Court on Wednesday with second-degree recklessly endangering safety, a Class G felony. He appeared in court the same day, where a prosecutor from the Kenosha County District Attorney’s Office requested only $2,000 in cash bail—a move that surprised even court officials. Court Commissioner William Michel II instead set bail at $3,000 cash.
The incident occurred Tuesday afternoon near the 3100 block of 85th Street. According to a criminal complaint, the victim was riding his motorcycle eastbound when Adams, driving a gray Ford truck, allegedly crossed the center line and swerved at him. The motorcyclist avoided being hit, turned around to get Adams’ license plate, and was then struck from behind while slowing for merging traffic in a construction zone.
A witness told police he believed the truck “intended to hit the motorcyclist” and described how Adams’ truck accelerated, then abruptly slammed on the brakes. Another witness said Adams was “smirking the whole time” and appeared to be looking directly at the motorcyclist as he swerved behind him.
When confronted by police, Adams admitted to swerving at the motorcyclist, saying he was trying to “get him down” from a “fancy stand up move.” He later claimed the motorcyclist had stopped too quickly and blamed the crash on that.
The victim appeared in court for Adams’ initial appearance and gave an emotional statement to the court.
“None of you understand what it looks like to look at the man and see him in his eyes while he’s smiling and understand his intent while he’s swerving his car over the lines at me,” the victim said.
He told the court that Adams appeared fully coherent and laughed after the crash, then blamed the motorcyclist, claiming he was doing “funny tricks.” The victim asked the court to consider suspending Adams’ driving privileges and emphasized his belief that the act was intentional.
“I plan on working with the DA to follow this further. This was intentional. This shouldn’t happen to anyone,” he said.
A preliminary hearing is scheduled for August 14.