8/03/2008

Violent environmentalist types attack car driver in Seattle: Critical Mass hogs road

The Seattle PI has this story:

Police spokesman Mark Jamieson said the driver is not considered an aggressor, but a victim, in the chaos that broke out during the Critical Mass protest.

While acknowledging that the driver did strike some of the bicyclists, Jamieson said it appeared the man did so trying to get away from the large crowd.

"It's completely understandable, if you've got a mob surrounding you, trying to get to you," he said.

The disturbance happened at around 7:15 p.m. near East Aloha Street and 14th Avenue East. The driver was in a white Subaru with a female companion and was trying to pull out of a parking space.

At that moment a large group of riders, described to police as anywhere from 100 to 300 bicyclists, were participating in a Critical Mass demonstration.

For years, bicyclists involved with Critical Mass have gathered monthly to ride through Seattle streets in a show of support for the rights of bicyclists. For the most part, Seattle police have taken a hands-off approach to the riders, although the protest tactics include filling the streets with bikes, putting a stop to vehicular traffic.

The riders were employing this tactic just as the motorist and his companion were about to drive off, Jamieson said.

"The bicyclists were using both sides of the roadway, effectively blocking traffic," he said.

According to what some witnesses told police, an altercation with the driver ensued and some of those on bikes began sitting on his car and hitting the vehicle, Jamieson said.

The driver tried to back up, he said, and struck a bike.

That's when bicyclists really began attacking the vehicle.

"They broke his windshield and they broke the rear window and did some additional body damage," Jamieson said.

The driver told officers he feared for his safety and that of his girlfriend, so he sped off, hitting other bikes and riders. . . .

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4 Comments:

Blogger Rail Claimore said...

The joys of collectivist mentality.

8/03/2008 3:01 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

I feel that cyclists like that deserve what we get. We have incidents here in rural Texas that parallel that, including stopping vehicles on train tracks...blow your horn and hit the gas so you get don't hit by the oncoming train! my daughter almost lost her life when cyclists did that to her. When she got clear a mile away, contacted the SO and gave a report. The cyclists were arrested.

8/04/2008 1:45 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

We'll just have to see how a 3 ton vehicle does against the frame of one of their bikes if they are going to play that game. These people give civil disobedience a bad name.

8/05/2008 7:29 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

The news story in Seattle is very mis-reported and mis-investigated.

3 cyclists initially cork the car.
The car hits one cyclist, knocking her over.
The car then does a 3 point turn in the sidewalk, lawn, and parking space.
Then the car lurches forward driving over one cyclist and throwing another to the windshield.

The car drives 50 yards before being stopped, where one cyclist disables the car and another cyclist attacks the driver.

8/06/2008 1:25 PM  

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