Cyclist Charged For Allegedly Causing Damage To SUV

We've heard about driver vs. bicyclist fights before, but Streetsblog has a really unusual one. Unusual because the bicyclist was charged with criminal mischief for slapping the side of the SUV! From Streetsblog:

[Ray] Bengen, 63, was riding down the Ninth Avenue bike lane on May 21 when he came across the Ford Excursion you see in this photo (curb weight: 7,190 lbs). A long-time city cyclist, Bengen had a green light and wasn't quite sure what to make of the vehicle in front of him. The car wasn't moving and its brake lights were off.

The bike lane on this stretch of Ninth Avenue is part of the city's first on-street protected bike path. At the 20th Street intersection, where Bengen came across the car, there's a left-turn bay for vehicles and an exclusive green phase for cyclists. The Excursion, as you can see, was in the bike lane, not the left-turn bay.

Bengen rode slowly by on the left. Then he sensed the car start to move as he was passing. Alarmed, he slapped the side of the car with his palm in an effort to alert the driver as to his presence. A witness, who Bengen says has agreed to testify in court, snapped three pictures of what happened.

You can see those photos here—and Bengen said, "The driver then went berserk. Talk about road rage. He threw open his door forcing me and my bike to the ground giving me some awful bruising down my leg. As I was now on the ground yelling at him that he's in a bike lane and was just about to run me over, he started to scream at me 'Don't even think about it, don't even think about it.'" Then suddenly the driver stopped, removed the bike from the area near his truck and drove away. Police did arrive at the scene after the dispute.

Then last week, Bengen was called down to the precinct because the "Manhattan DA had filed charges of criminal mischief against him. (The DA's office is also pursuing assault charges against the SUV driver.)" He was handcuffed, fingerprinted and released; Streetsblog was told the Manhattan DA's office plans to offer more details at the hearing next month.

Contact the author of this article or email tips@gothamist.com with further questions, comments or tips.

By Jen Chung in News on June 23, 2009 6:46 PM

Comments [rss]

ackra

Recently,I recently purchased directional turn signals for my bike and the 1st day I used them they saved my life at an intersection where a truck was making a right turn.

It's a no brainer. I purchased mine at www.safetybikesignals.com

Why aren't more riders using them. I don't get it. Do you?

peanuthead

update: http://www.streetsblog.org/2009/06/25/meet-the-alleged-road-rage-thug-of-ninth-avenue-gus-gonzalez/

Guest

Why are cyclists such huge wimps? He should have kicked that SUV driver in the nuts, gotten up, kicked him again, and then biked away.

terminationshok

It will likely lessen your lawsuit awards if you punch them. Seriously, if someone assaults you with a vehicle, don't kick their ass. Only kick their ass if it will save you from getting yours kicked. Get the license plate number (take a photo, get from bystanders, or security cams) and go somewhere they wont follow you. Go to the hospital if you are hurt and get checked out. Then go straight to a qualified attorney. The attorney will sue them and their insurance company to cover your medical bills, damage to your bike and cargo, missed work, and legal bills. Go directly to the attorney once your safety is assured. They typically take no money up front and 1/3 of the settlement. If you don't like the way the attorney handles your case, you can get a new one to take over. Expect it to take a long time for the case to finish.

If the crash is a genuine accident, just exchange information politely. If they didn't see you and you get hit, just don't be mean. If you put them on the defensive it may affect the story they tell their insurance company, and you could end up waiting longer to get paid.

Don't expect the police to "punish" the other person. They are there to get medical help, stop fights, move traffic safely around the scene, and verify that you exchange addresses and insurance. Calmly allow them to do that and it will go better for you. This is easier said than done because your body is going to be in shock. If one of you is acting crazy and the other one is acting calm it's likely to affect the police report which is very important to your case.

tldr:

1. ow!

2. get license plate

3. gtfo

4. doctor

5. lawyer

6. indian chief

7. profit? - not really, just less loss.

Manitoba

Agreed!

I had a similar incident happen where a driver tried to cut me off, so I knocked on his window to let him know I was there (I did not knock hard). He then went ballistic and started threatening me, so I put my fist through his passenger side mirror (I was wearing gloves - I'm not that tough) and told him to back up his threats while I pulled out my U-lock. He subsequently sped off.

Gus Gonzalez is lucky that he didn't pull this with some crazy cyclist (there are plenty out there), or he'd be tasting nut-soup right now.

Jerky

That's him, douchebag Gus Gonzalez. You can check out his wife's facebook page, Laura Di Spirito, who works at the Waldorf. It appears to possibly be his son in the front seat. Nice example, Dad.

Liam

i will take this down if i'm mistaken, but heres a (public) photo of the guy who doored the cyclist : http://tr.im/pDBG

Dirk

Man, I hate Bush.

Clarice City

Typical SUV driver behavior.

pinball29

The scumbag in the SUV is a cop. Only a NYC cop would feel absolutely entitled to not only park in the bike lane, but then lie about it, assault the bike rider (we've seen this before....) and then make sure that the bike rider was hit with phony trumped up charges.

nyorker555

If the biker had biked away before the police arrived and before he gave him name to the police, he wouldnt be in the legal mess he's in now. The car driver is of course, an idiot for suing.

mns

look. while i think that road rage is a bad thing, i do think that a little vigilanteism is in order. the reason why is that car drivers think they own the effing city and the DA does nothing to disabused them of this when they kill people.

to that end, i propose the following five point plan:

1. a bicycle vigilante team ought to be formed.

2. this team should carry heavy truncheons and tire piercing spikes

3. tire piercing spikes should be placed beneath tires of cars illegally blocking pedestrian walkways and bicycle lanes

4. truncheons should be used to smash windows and dent the bodies of cars that grossly violate the rules of the road, thereby endangering the safety of pedestrians and bicyclists

5. if meatheads get out to protest, truncheons should be employed as tenderizers

am i serious? well, halfway so. since the state won't protect bicyclists, i think that we ought to defend ourselves, and since careless driving threatens our lives, we are all acting in self defense.

this reminds me of a story, with which i end:

my friend - a once pro rider who rode with george hincapie when they were teenagers - was once riding his bicycle in a legal manner (at traffic speed on the right side of the road). a car that was passing on the inside nearly ran him over. my friend caught up with the guy easily (he was once pro) and told the driver to be careful. the driver told him to shove it. my friend then took his bicycle pump and swung it with all his might onto the windshield of the car. the window cracked badly. he immediately kicked the side of the car as hard as he could, denting the fender, swung his bike around and pedaled the other direction.

all i can say is that this story gives me great satisfaction. it would only be better if kipp had a truncheon and a spike.

Global Wombat

This isn't about bike justice at all is it, you silly truncheon fetishist!

SikBug

mns comment that is

wac0202

Great story MNS, count me in.

SikBug

I enjoyed this post maybe too much.

kswissreject

The driver's license plate: NY BXN 4640

Jen Chung

When I would run in Riverside Park, I'd cross 95th Street, where cars turn from the West Side Highway (street view). Even though there's a light, cars would just keep going relatively fast to try to sneak through red lights—I used to slap cars all the time because I would be in the middle of the street.

matty

As a fellow runner I sympathize with your plight. I jogging in manhattan was an excersize in futility unless i was in the park or on the battery park trail.

glennQNYC

Lessons to learn from this story:

1. Human propulsion does not entitle you. Keep your hands to yourself.

2. A nonphysical alert method (horn, whistle, etc) should be part of every riders gear.