Southern California - Bad road rage on the Holiday Ride, Mandeville

This is a sad story. I ride that road at least twice a week. I am very careful about riding as far to the right as possible and being aware of any downhill cars. Hopefully this doesn't affect cyclist safety in the future on that road.

In one of the interviews the guy with his nose stitched back on said he told the driver to get away from them...so the doctor, not offering assistance, is out the window. If someone doesn't want help, you can't touch them.

I am curious as to the eye witness statement and write up posted here. Neither interview or article that I reviewed indicated that an eye witness was present. During one interview (as Ralph pointed out) the cyclist indicated that HE refused treatment from the driver, not that someone else refused treatment on his behalf.

In one of the interview they guy with his nose stitched back on said he told the driver to get away from them...so the doctor, not offering assistance, is out the window.

Link?

Link?

It was in one of the video links above...I think it was the CBS one.

Link?

http://cbs2.com/video/?id=71118@kcbs.dayport.com

and the audio portion can be found at 0:54.00

"but didn't offer any help and I told him to get away from me..."


So the doctor says he's a doctor, but doesn't offer assistance, and the guy, who he injured, says get away from him and somehow that absolves him? He's still trying to leave the scene?

This isn't really my particular brand of vodka, but is there any talk of a meet up at the courtroom when this guy goes for court? To protest, or something or other

Here's from the LA Times:



--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-bike9-2008jul09,0,6023414.story

From the Los Angeles Times
Conflict between bicyclists, motorists boils over in Brentwood
Two experienced riders are hurt on Mandeville Canyon Road in what police describe as a 'road-rage incident.' L.A. councilman calls for a meeting on the issue.
By Martha Groves and Richard Winton
Los Angeles Times Staff Writers

July 9, 2008

Bicyclists who crave a steady uphill climb flock to Mandeville Canyon Road and its 5-mile, straight-shot ascent with no traffic lights.

But the route's rising popularity has turned the narrow road into a zone of conflict for Brentwood residents and the hundreds of cyclists who, every weekend, brave its twists, turns and tree-root bumps.

The frustration boiled over on the Fourth of July. In what police describe as a "road-rage incident," two experienced racers on a holiday outing that attracted about 300 cyclists were riding down Mandeville Canyon when a motorist in an Infiniti sedan slammed on his brakes in front of them. Police said the resulting impact propelled one rider through the car's rear window and sent the other to the pavement.

Police arrested the driver, Christopher T. Thompson, 58, on suspicion of felony assault with a deadly weapon -- his automobile. Thompson, who lives on Mandeville Canyon Road and is an owner of a medical documentation company in Woodland Hills, was released on $30,000 bail.

Capt. Bill Eaton of the Los Angeles Police Department said the case could go to the Los Angeles County district attorney's office as early as today.

Peter Swarth, Thompson's attorney, denied that his client had done anything wrong and said the cyclists' account was inaccurate. "This isn't an incident of road rage," Swarth said. "It is a very unfortunate accident. Dr. Thompson hopes for the injured cyclists' recovery."

Cyclist Ron Peterson, 40, whose head crashed through the car window, suffered broken teeth and serious cuts on his face, including one that left his broken nose dangling.

The other cyclist, Christian Stoehr, 29, said he suffered a shoulder separation that would require surgery.

Photos showing a car's shattered window and what appears to be a blood-covered trunk and a cut-up Peterson on a gurney and in a UCLA Medical Center bed were quickly posted on Internet blogs, prompting outraged e-mails among members of Westside riding clubs.

Peterson and Stoehr said they were starting their descent toward Sunset Boulevard when a fellow cyclist crashed into another rider's bike and was injured. The two remained behind to help.

After paramedics arrived and loaded the cyclist into an ambulance, Peterson and Stoehr said they continued to descend, riding side by side at about 30 mph.

Peterson said he pulled in front of Stoehr after a driver behind them honked. The car passed them, missing their handlebars by less than a foot, Peterson said.

The driver "yelled out some profanity and 'Ride single file,' " said Peterson, who works as a cycling coach. Peterson, riding a $5,500 Specialized racing bike, screamed an expletive at the driver. At that point, the driver veered directly in front of the riders and "slammed on his brakes as hard as he could," Peterson said.

Peterson's head slammed through the window. Stoehr, meanwhile, said he tried to steer around the car but clipped it with his bag or a foot. "I ended up being catapulted over my own bike and landed in front of the car," he said.

According to Peterson, the driver emerged from the car and said he was a doctor. But "from that point on, he never offered any help," Peterson said.

Thompson's biography on the website of his company, Touch Medix, says he spent 29 years as an emergency department doctor. He earned his medical degree at the University of Oklahoma and has for years consulted on issues relating to medical documentation.

Wendy-Sue Rosen, president of the Upper Mandeville Canyon Assn., described Thompson as "a great guy who has been active in the community." His wife, Lynne, is on the association's board.

"People here are very, very angry at bicyclists and their disregard for the laws of the road," Rosen said, adding that residents had reported being spat upon by cyclists.

Charles Mostov, a lawyer who lives on Mandeville Canyon Road and is an avid cyclist, said the incident had prompted some much-needed conversation.

Los Angeles City Councilman Bill Rosendahl, who represents the area, said he had called for a meeting within the next two weeks of residents, cyclists, traffic engineers and police to discuss the issues and to reinforce the fact that "cyclists have the right to travel safely and free of fear."

Cyclists urged members of their community not to use the incident as an excuse to act aggressively toward motorists.

"As more people take to the road because of gas prices and the economy," Mostov said, "maybe this is an opportunity for some outreach and for dialogue so that we can get along."

martha.groves@latimes.com

richard.winton@latimes.com

"but didn't offer any help and I told him to get away from me..."


So the doctor says he's a doctor, but doesn't offer assistance, and the guy, who he injured, says get away from him and somehow that absolves him? He's still trying to leave the scene?

This is not a court of law, it's just how it came across on the video.

http://www.velonews.com/article/79771/la-incident-rallies-cycling-community

http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-bikecrash12-2008jul12,0,3133098.story

Looks like there will be a meeting Monday at 6:30 PM. I wonder what the outcome, if anything, will be.

Hi y'all,

Someone suggested I post this over here. There is a community meeting about the incident being held in West LA on Monday, by Councilman Bill Rosendahl. They actually do not want to discuss the incident, but they do want to discuss motorist road rage. People from the other side - Mandeville Canyon residents - will be there as well.

We'll be riding to the meeting, first from Melrose & Heliotrope (Bike Kitchen/Scoops/Orange 20/Pure Luck) at 4:50pm, then to the Bikerowave (1816 A Berkeley St, Santa Monica) at 6:00pm, and finally to the meeting. Here's the meeting details:

Felicia Mahood Multipurpose Center
11338 Santa Monica Boulevard
6:30pm - 8:00pm

http://laist.com/2008/07/10/councilman_calls_for_mandeville_can.php

Link to the flier:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/alexbct/2661422101/

Link to the event on Facebook:
http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=22515671650

Alex what's up? Meeting cancelled I hear ???

"councilman back pedals on bicycle meeting"

http://laist.com/2008/07/12/councilman_back_pedals_on_bicycle_m.php

Rosendahl's meeting has been cancelled but...

Storm the Bastille is on!

On Monday, July 14, we ride from REDquarters (Santa Monica & Vermont Red Line Station) @ 11 to the South Lawn of City Hall for a noon rally.

We've got a Bastillion ideas on ways to make this a GREAT City but we're gonna start with the <a href="http://www.bikewriterscollective.com">Cyclists' Bill of Rights</a> and we're gonna call on our City Leadership to join us in making this a GREAT City with GREAT Streets! (6500 miles of roadway, all of it ridable!)

See you on the Streets!

thanks!

Alex what's up? Meeting cancelled I hear ???

Yeah, as other posters noted they cancelled it. I'm upset, both because I'm upset about the assault, and because I feel jerked around. They had an opportunity to a do a visionary thing here and start the big discussion about motorists and cyclists in LA, and they balked. I'll be at Storm the Bastille with Stephen.

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3233/2661422101_3b3f000e52_o.jpg

I would imagine they balked when they heard about the outbursts and disruptions at other recent meetings between LA officials and the Bicycling community.

We can't behave like that and expect people to want to hear what we have to say. It's super easy for them to just shut the door.

That being said, I'm disappointed they canceled the meeting as well, as I was looking forward to some good theater.

BillyB,

Last Wednesday's Transportation Committee had 60 people in the room for a meeting that went for over three hours.

Rosendahl was there and it was a very successful meeting with only a bit of tension between a couple of the Councilmen and a minor interruption when a Ballona Creek homeowner went a little aggro.

Any rumors that cyclists can't behave were soundly contradicted and in fact, I'd suggest that it was a very successful day. The Cyclists' Bill of Rights was introduced and Councilwoman Greuel directed LADOT Staff and Planning Staff to include it in the Bicycle Master Plan. Councilman Rosendahl embraced the Cyclists' Bill of Rights and announced that he was going to have a Community Forum.

So, to your theory, not so much.

Look to the LATimes article with the over 600 comments, some of which were quite poisonous, and you'll see "the tenor of media coverage and of blog posts" that is referenced as the cause of the cancellation.

While I appreciate that there are those who would advocate for a kinder gentler approach, you only need to point to the success to make it look attractive. Our air is the worst, our schools are failing, our streets are failing, our gridlock is #1, our housing situation is horrendous...what should we be celebrating?

On the other hand Jane Usher urges the community to "Stand up and Yell!" Laura Chick addressed today's crowd admonishing "If you're not indignant, you're not paying attention."

Our leadership is playing hardball, communities are sabotaging the Metro's plan because they're not getting their way. They are playing for real and they are not pretending to get along, they're getting real in public. (Metro Board)

We should never be afraid of standing up and simply letting our civil servants know when something smells funky.

The LADOT staff started talking back to the Transportation Committee and got shut down. Why do you propose that we should politely allow them to sell their "Why you can't have what you want." powerpoint to the community, simply because we are honored to get some attention.

We have an obligation to raise the standard and demand performance.

Justice has been served ...


Doctor sentenced to 5 years in prison for assaulting bicyclists in Brentwood (http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/lanow/2010/01/cyclist-sentenced.html)

January 8, 2010
http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/.a/6a00d8341c630a53ef0120a7b780d4970b-800wi
A doctor convicted of assaulting two bicyclists by slamming on his car brakes after a confrontation on a narrow Brentwood road was sentenced today to five years in prison.
Christopher Thompson, wearing dark blue jail scrubs, wept as he apologized to the injured cyclists shortly before he was sentenced.
"I would like to apologize deeply, profoundly from the bottom of my heart," he told them, his right hand cuffed to a court chair.
Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge Scott T. Millington called the case a "wake-up call" to motorists and cyclists and urged local government to provide riders with more bike lanes. He said he believed that Thompson had shown a lack of remorse during the case and that the victims were particularly vulnerable while riding their bicycles.

The case against Thompson, 60, has drawn close scrutiny from bicycle riders around the country, many of whom viewed the outcome as a test of the justice system's commitment to protecting cyclists. Millington said he did not take into account more than 270 e-mails and letters from cyclists that were filed with the court urging a tough sentence.
The July 4, 2008, crash also highlighted simmering tensions between cyclists and residents along Mandeville Canyon Road, the winding five-mile residential street where the crash took place.
One cyclist was flung face-first into the rear window of Thompson's red Infiniti, breaking his front teeth and nose and cutting his face. The other cyclist slammed into the sidewalk and suffered a separated shoulder.
At his sentencing hearing at the county's airport branch court, Thompson cited the Bible in urging cyclists and residents of Mandeville Canyon to try to resolve their differences peacefully.
"If my incident shows anything it's that confrontation leads to an escalation of hostilities," Thompson said.

Thompson, a former emergency room physician who described the crash as a terrible accident, testified during his trial last year that he and other Mandeville Canyon residents were upset that some cyclists rode dangerously and acted disrespectfully toward residents and motorists along the street, a popular route for bike riders.
On the day of the crash, Thompson said he was driving down the road on his way to work when several cyclists swore at him and flipped him off as he called on them to ride single file. He said he stopped his car to take a photo to identify the riders and never intended to hurt anyone. But the cyclists said the doctor was acting aggressively from the start. They said he honked loudly from behind them and passed by dangerously close as they moved to ride single file before he pulled in front and braked hard.

A police officer told jurors that shortly after the crash that Thompson said he slammed on his brakes in front of the riders to "teach them a lesson."
Prosecutors said Thompson had a history of run-ins with bike riders, including a similar episode four months before the crash when two cyclists told police that the doctor tried to run them off the road and braked suddenly in front of them. Neither of the riders was injured.
Jurors convicted Thompson in November of mayhem; assault with a deadly weapon, his car; battery with serious injury; and reckless driving causing injury.

-- Jack Leonard at the L.A. County airport courthouse

Photo: Christopher Thompson weeps as a judge sentences him to five years in prison for assaulting two bicyclists by slamming on his car brakes after a confrontation on a narrow Brentwood road. Credit: Luis Sinco / Los Angeles Times