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

Heard about this second hand, apparently a Dr. that lives up in the Canyon came behind some of the riders honking his horn, sped around them, and then intentionally slammed on his brakes once he got to the front, sending someone through his back windshield into the back seat of his car. Cops arrived, Doc said something like "they got what they deserved," and then got handcuffed.

Anyone know details or how the rider is?

wow, that's freakin crazy. i was gonna sit in on that one, but i've been down for the count with a stomach bug.
hope he gets the maximum punishment possible. people like that will eventually get what they deserve.

Two Cynergy riders, Ron Peterson and Christian Stoehr, were involved. The driver approached them from behind, laid on the horn, and passed them within inches. The riders yelled at the guy and he swerved in front of them and slammed on the brakes. Ron went through the rear windshield and received some serious facial lacerations and Christian separated his shoulder. Both were sent to the hospital, treated, and released. The driver was previously involved in a cyclist related road rage incident on Mandeville in March.

Give us his name (the driver) so we can burn him at the stake next time he's spotted.

Jeez...

Don't know it. Besides, I don't think he'll be driving for a long, long time.

hopefully they yank his medical license.

I heard he was ranting about how he hates cyclists and refused to give medical help to the injured riders.

He has violated not only the Hippocratic Oath, but also the Declaration of Geneva:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Declaration_of_Geneva

As a medical professional, one is required by law to uphold the Declaration of Geneva. Any violation of either can get your medical license suspended and/or revoked depending on the seriousness of the violation.

I heard he was ranting about how he hates cyclists and refused to give medical help to the injured riders.

Definitely report him:

http://www.medbd.ca.gov/

It's bad enough he caused the incident, even worse he refused treatment.

i hope they sue him for all his worth

Hi,

I am astounded, saddened, and dismayed.

I can't imagine what would cause a DOCTOR to behave in this manner. I hope he's not a doctor after this. :(

Was this on the way up or down? Any info on the make of the car? I wonder whether it's the same guy who almost clipped me once...

Here is the link to the story. Warning some of the pictures are graphic.

http://laist.com/2008/07/07/road_rage_motorist_vs_cyclists_on_m.php

I'm glad to see that Box picked this story up. It is just sickening.

Extremely frightening. I've had drivers perturbed at me, drivers honk at me and drivers who were inattentive buzz me. I've never had a driver intentionally attempt to hurt me. It is indeed attempted murder and this driver hopefully will be going away for a very long time.

He'll lose his medical license, driver's license, be sued for everything he ever had, probably lose any family during his jail time, not to mention he'll have to move as the neighborhood outcry over such wanton maliciousness and protesting cyclists wouldn't be a very pleasant place to live.

I'd be interested to see his age. I can't tell if he's 65 and retired or 45 with the rest of his career life ahead of him.

I truly don't understand why people throw everything away in the heat of the moment. And it appears he has done this before on a lesser scale. Unreal.

Reminds me of the Aliso Viejo story where two guys coming out of Opah got upset about the speed of a BMW driver in the parking lot. The driver did a loop and came back at them and sped into them. I believe he killed one of them. There you are one moment driving your car, listening to some music, thinking about dinner and then the next moment you're sitting in jail looking at murder and prison time.

Control.

...

He'll lose his medical license, driver's license, be sued for everything he ever had, probably lose any family during his jail time, not to mention he'll have to move as the neighborhood outcry over such wanton maliciousness and protesting cyclists wouldn't be a very pleasant place to live.....

You know - I hope you're right. But all too often people who can afford the right lawyers get away with much lighter consequences.

update has been posted @

http://laist.com/2008/07/07/update_on_bicycle_accident.php

Extremely frightening. I've had drivers perturbed at me, drivers honk at me and drivers who were inattentive buzz me. I've never had a driver intentionally attempt to hurt me. It is indeed attempted murder and this driver hopefully will be going away for a very long time.

He'll lose his medical license, driver's license, be sued for everything he ever had, probably lose any family during his jail time, not to mention he'll have to move as the neighborhood outcry over such wanton maliciousness and protesting cyclists wouldn't be a very pleasant place to live.

I'd be interested to see his age. I can't tell if he's 65 and retired or 45 with the rest of his career life ahead of him.

I truly don't understand why people throw everything away in the heat of the moment. And it appears he has done this before on a lesser scale. Unreal.

Reminds me of the Aliso Viejo story where two guys coming out of Opah got upset about the speed of a BMW driver in the parking lot. The driver did a loop and came back at them and sped into them. I believe he killed one of them. There you are one moment driving your car, listening to some music, thinking about dinner and then the next moment you're sitting in jail looking at murder and prison time.

Control.

The perp is supposedly 58.

His name is up on LAist. Unfortunately, the name is the same as another doc who works in the area, so people were putting up contact info for the wrong person. Should you come across that info, let it be, the police are investigating this properly so far.

was released from LAPD Valley Jail on $30k bail July 4th (Van Nuys).

Just please don't post this on A&S forum, unless you want a ten page discussion that will somehow imply cyclists were at fault.

Just please don't post this on A&S forum, unless you want a ten page discussion that will somehow imply cyclists were at fault.

Interesting point. If you didn't know, Mandeville is a quiet, two-laned, residential canyon road that dead-ends about five miles up.

The article mentioned that this holiday ride gets about 300 people, and something like it occurs 6-7 times a year. There are riders up there literally every day of the week, just not in such numbers.

I really don't know how the residents feel about that in general, but it's a very popular route and sees a lot of bike traffic. I can tell you that the one family I know that lives up there gets pissed about all the bicyclists, especially when they impede car traffic.

Sometimes it's just too hard for some people to get along, it seems. :(

La Grange has noted problems up there for years, and has written up suggestions for how to co-exist with the residents: http://www.lagrange.org/rides_wed.htm


Oh, and I know that you all understand that these comments in no way implies any justification of the drivers road rage, right?

I've never really liked descending Mandeville. Even if I am being polite and getting out of the way, the right can be pretty bumpy and dangerous and often the cars are on you before you have a chance to move due to the curves.

At any rate, the doc posted on laist isn't the one. The doc here, as mentioned, has practiced for a number of years. The real doc's license plate is available on a blog, and it is a personalized plate which is a shortened name of his medical documentation business in the valley.

Unfortunately, looks like he's not a practicing phys. but has this business, so while he might lose his license, he won't lose his business.

Hope the boys sue his a** off

This where one of the big guys riding needs to stop just long enough to move the *****h()les nose from front to side of his face then ride on while Every one is to busy taking care of the injured to "see what happened" people like that need the crap stomped out of them
(fat old hillbilly plumber volenteering for stomping duty)
Cop: did you see who hit him?
witness:no I was assisting the injured men
2nd witness: somebody said it was Fred His bike had fenders:D

Just for the Record, this is Assault with a Deadly Weapon. If the Charge is anything less than that we have a problem.

**EDIT**

"Captain Eaton, the commanding officer of the West LA station, reports that LAPD believes this was indeed a 'road rage' incident, made an arrest, and is handling the matter as a felony criminal assault, and not as a traffic collision," explained Mike Bonin, Chief of Staff for Councilmember Bill Rosendahl, in a comment that was verified this morning (http://laist.com/2008/07/07/road_rage_motorist_vs_cyclists_on_m.php#comment-1400898). "The investigation will be handled by [West Los Angeles division] Detectives, who are seeking a criminal filing. When LAPD updates us on the progress, I will be sure to share that information here."

Good.

Just saw this on the news
http://cbs2.com/video/?id=71118@kcbs.dayport.com

Just saw this on the news
http://cbs2.com/video/?id=71118@kcbs.dayport.com

I wonder if CBS2 News chose the correct doctor when showing the gated house? There are at least 2 Doctors with that name living in the area...

Overall, I hope that the guy gets the book thrown at him and then has a civil judgement against him that wipes out his home equity, retirement savings, and insurance protections. Oh, and I also hope that his medical license is revoked.

Guys like him are what u-locks are designed for. When drivers attempt to hit me with their passenger door mirror (happens several times a year), I chase them down at the next red light. Knock on the driver's window with a u-lock. Invite him out for a discussion. For some reason, I never see these drivers in my neighborhood again.

Guys like him are what u-locks are designed for. When drivers attempt to hit me with their passenger door mirror (happens several times a year), I chase them down at the next red light. Knock on the driver's window with a u-lock. Invite him out for a discussion. For some reason, I never see these drivers in my neighborhood again.

Fantastic. Then he could hit you and claim self-defense.

in case you missed it, this aired last night on KNBC:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C3YGhtJnGxg

in case you missed it, this aired last night on KNBC:
http://www.vimeo.com/1304438

A) I thought the first newscast posted (CBS) had an exclusive!

B) Nice lead-in! With the high price of gas we could see many more of these types of accidents!

I'm sure there are tons of cyclists on that exclusive hill in full commuter gear due to the high costs of fuel!

Typical newscast "Could you be next???" hyperbole....

This is one bast*** that just hates cyclists. Looks like from the first video that this is a long-standing problem and has hit a boiling point. The neighbor interviewed didn't seem at all surprised. Most of us would be shocked if our neighbor was accused of such a heinous act.

What a terrible story.

i saw this report on the news. i was shocked when they interviewed the doctors neighboor and the guy basically said something like "its a narrow road and this was bound to happen". i couldnt believe it. did he mean that since this was a narrow road that a crazy road rager was "bound" to ram his car into two defenseless cyclists almost killing them ?
from what i have heard this is the SECOND time this doctor has done this.

This scumbag deserves jail time, hopefully with a cell mate that thinks he's pretty.

i saw this report on the news. i was shocked when they interviewed the doctors neighboor and the guy basically said something like "its a narrow road and this was bound to happen". i couldnt believe it. did he mean that since this was a narrow road that a crazy road rager was "bound" to ram his car into two defenseless cyclists almost killing them ?
from what i have heard this is the SECOND time this doctor has done this.

It's probably years of trying to get home on a weekend and going 8mph behind a bunch of cyclists and every time you try to pass them an oncoming car blocks your way. Have that happen to you about 3000 times and you probably get a little peeved.

He's probably had countless incidents with honking and flipping each other off, etc. He was gradually making his way toward more violent means (running cyclists off the road earlier this year) when this opportunity presented itself.

I hear you about that neighbor. He definitely seemed like a nice guy but I got the gut feeling he EMPATHIZED with the doc!

The moral of the story is when you can't stand something and it starts to ruin your quality of life, change it! I've moved from countless apartments due to crappy neighbors, bad maintenance, bad neighborhoods etc. Now as a homeowner if something bothered me to the point of no return, I'd just move.

Bad real estate market? Lifelong residents? Love the schools? Moving certainly couldn't have been worse than what's about to happen to him.

By the way, if he claims some crap about working 39 consecutive hours and that he meant to hit the gas and peel out away from them and instead hit the brakes and he gets 100 hours of community service and everything else stays the same in his world, then I'll be about as surprised as his neighbor was.

He seems like the sort of guy who'd turn around and try to sue the fellow who went through his rear window for damages. I don't think he'll get very far with that. Hope he gets an entire library thrown at him.

i have an awesome defense lawyer here in santa monica if anyone knows these guys. the kind of guy you'd want at your table if you were looking at your third strike, or if some ******bag does what he did the other day.

Anyone know if you can hold a license to practice medicine with a felony conviction?

Anyone know if you can hold a license to practice medicine with a felony conviction?

i dont think you can in california. however, once you are a doctor the process of revoking your medical license for non medically related issues is very long and drawn out. this guy could practice for years....if hes not in jail.
my guess is the guy wont even be convicted of any charges.

this is what is going to happen....case will go to court....evidence will be introduced that the two cyclists are avid racers and known to seek maximum speed while riding. the accident occured on a downhill section. the defense will subpeona the odomoter/speedometer from the bikes of the "victims" and see a max speed of 37-42 mph from that day. we know they couldnt have reached those speeds on the uphill portion so we can conclude it was on the downhill portion. the speed limit on that road is 25-35 mph. the cyclists were speeding which is a violation of california vehicular code. in addition, if the cyclists hit the back of the car that means they were not traveling at the required distance behind the defendats car for the given speed they were traveling.
in addition the defendant will claim he merely slowed down to enter his driveway when the racing, speeding, tailgating cyclists hit his vehicle. he may also claim numerous legal explinations for why he slowed down. california law places the responsibility on the trailing vehicles to maintain a safe distance.
when all is said and done this guy wont do jail time. i mean, in america a drunk driver who kills an entire family serves 2-3 years, usually less. these cyclists had mere cuts and boo boos.

i dont think you can in california. however, once you are a doctor the process of revoking your medical license for non medically related issues is very long and drawn out. this guy could practice for years....if hes not in jail.
my guess is the guy wont even be convicted of any charges.

this is what is going to happen....case will go to court....evidence will be introduced that the two cyclists are avid racers and known to seek maximum speed while riding. the accident occured on a downhill section. the defense will subpeona the odomoter/speedometer from the bikes of the "victims" and see a max speed of 37-42 mph from that day. we know they couldnt have reached those speeds on the uphill portion so we can conclude it was on the downhill portion. the speed limit on that road is 25-35 mph. the cyclists were speeding which is a violation of california vehicular code. in addition, if the cyclists hit the back of the car that means they were not traveling at the required distance behind the defendats car for the given speed they were traveling.
in addition the defendant will claim he merely slowed down to enter his driveway when the racing, speeding, tailgating cyclists hit his vehicle. he may also claim numerous legal explinations for why he slowed down. california law places the responsibility on the trailing vehicles to maintain a safe distance.
when all is said and done this guy wont do jail time. i mean, in america a drunk driver who kills an entire family serves 2-3 years, usually less. these cyclists had mere cuts and boo boos.

If that's the way it goes down, then i'm sure there will be some vigilante justice. No way on earth this guy is getting off scot-free. :mad:

i dont think you can in california. however, once you are a doctor the process of revoking your medical license for non medically related issues is very long and drawn out. this guy could practice for years....if hes not in jail.
my guess is the guy wont even be convicted of any charges.

this is what is going to happen....case will go to court....evidence will be introduced that the two cyclists are avid racers and known to seek maximum speed while riding. the accident occured on a downhill section. the defense will subpeona the odomoter/speedometer from the bikes of the "victims" and see a max speed of 37-42 mph from that day. we know they couldnt have reached those speeds on the uphill portion so we can conclude it was on the downhill portion. the speed limit on that road is 25-35 mph. the cyclists were speeding which is a violation of california vehicular code. in addition, if the cyclists hit the back of the car that means they were not traveling at the required distance behind the defendats car for the given speed they were traveling.
in addition the defendant will claim he merely slowed down to enter his driveway when the racing, speeding, tailgating cyclists hit his vehicle. he may also claim numerous legal explinations for why he slowed down. california law places the responsibility on the trailing vehicles to maintain a safe distance.
when all is said and done this guy wont do jail time. i mean, in america a drunk driver who kills an entire family serves 2-3 years, usually less. these cyclists had mere cuts and boo boos.

You may be right. There's no law against stopping quickly. And intent can be hard to prove. The Dr’s prior history against cyclist is a factor however.

You may be right. There's no law against stopping quickly. And intent can be hard to prove. The Dr’s prior history against cyclist is a factor however.

Not offering assistance and wanting to leave the scene can probably help to prove intent, though.

Not to mention the 300+ witnesses to the incident. If someone lays on the horn from behind and screams obscenities out the window as he passes the bikers, I think intent has been well established.

Not to mention the 300+ witnesses to the incident.

The only eye witnesses are the driver and two cyclist.

The only eye witnesses are the driver and two cyclist.

I must've skimmed over that part. Too bad there weren't any other witnesses. That would have made for a MUCH stronger case against the psycho driver.

There was another cyclist behind Ron and Christian who witnessed the whole incident.

I know what you guys are saying, but i wouldn't have let the "Dr." touch me after the incident. I don't care about his duty as a doctor... get the F' away from me, and wait for the police.

There was another cyclist behind Ron and Christian who witnessed the whole incident.

It sounded like he arrived just after it happened.

Sounds to me like he witnessed the whole thing, though he might have been far enough back to miss the details of the argument.

"The mood was great as we all had a great, safe and uneventful ride to the top of Mandeville Cyn. We then all left at different times down the Canyon. My friend Ed, was riding about 40 yards ahead of me. I was traveling at approximately 25 mph. I was then passed by 2 cyclists, Ron and Christian, who I have seen many times before on our weekly rides in the South Bay and these Holiday rides. I would estimate their speed at probably 3 to 5 mph faster than myself. They slowly pulled ahead of me and when they were about 50 ft. in front of me, a car started approaching from my rear with it's horn blaring intermittently and passed me in a very aggressive way. The red Infinity, which was traveling at a speed that I would estimate to be between 40 to 45 mph, passed around to my left over the dividing line with it's right side tires still in the right lane. I would guess the car to have been about 3-4 ft. away from me on my left. My position was just to the right of center of the lane. Ron and Christian were ahead of me and Ron was close to the center of the lane and Christian was to his right. The car continued on the same line and as it approached Ron and Christian, it passed them and then immediately cut in front of them in an intimidating deliberate, aggressive way. The driver was about 3-5 ft in front of Ron and Christian, who then yelled out to the driver in startled amazement and the driver then abruptly and with no notification whatsoever, slammed the brakes of his car. Ron immediately slammed into the back end of the car impacting the trunk portion and shattering the rear windshield with his face. Christian, who at the moment just prior to impact was about 2 feet behind and to the right of Ron, attempted to stop and hit Ron's bike and flew over the trunk of the car to the left into the opposite lane of traffic. I immediately applied my brakes to stop at the scene. The time lapse from the car veering into their path and the impact and crash was about 2-3 seconds. As I approached the car about 4 to 5 seconds later, Ron was leaning against the trunk motionless, bleeding profusely from the face, his hands over his face, clearly in shock. Christian was lying on the ground moaning in severe pain. As I was holding onto Ron, the driver got out of his car and approached towards us. I yelled at him in utter amazement "Why did you do this? What are you doing, get the **** away". He was aggressive in his response saying, "Don't tell me what to do". I said to him "Look what you've done, get away." I then yelled at him to turn his car off. He again said "don't tell me what to do." I again ordered him in a very terse and commanding tone to turn his car off, which he then did. I then sat Ron down and headed towards Christian who was lying on the ground in severe pain. I looked at his shoulder and it was protruding out which appeared to be either a dislocation or broken collar bone. Cars then approached and I went to the first car and the woman driver already had her cell phone out and ready to give me. I called 911 and told the operator that we need an ambulance, that there were severely injured cyclists and the police, as a blatant crime of assault with a car had just happened. About 3 to 5 minutes had elapsed at this point when numerous drivers and neighbors had stopped and were assisting in the care of Ron and Christian. When I walked back to Ron, a gentleman named Bruce Rogan was tending to him. He was making a suggestion about his care when the road rage driver interjected something about what to do regarding Ron's care saying he was a Doctor. The man attending to Ron then stated that he was a Doctor also. It was about 10 minutes later that Fire Department Paramedics personnel arrived and took over the care of Ron and Christian. I then walked over to Christian, who by this time was on the side of the road in a neighbor arms. She was comforting him until paramedics arrived. Her name was Wendy Lynch. Christian was in obvious pain and I could see his shoulder bone protruding and he was stating that he felt like he was going to faint. Wendy stated that she and her husband were walking their dog when she heard the commotion of the "accident". She pointed out her husband about 50 to 100 yards away slowing traffic approaching the scene. About 5 minutes later, the first of many LAPD arrived. I was subsequently asked by paramedics as I was walking around to assist in holding Ron's head stationary as the rescue personnel were concerned about possible neck injuries to him while they applied a body brace. I was also asked a few minutes later to assist in keeping Christian's arm still as the paramedics applied stabilizing straps to him. Shortly thereafter the police officer approached me for my statement."

You may be right. There's no law against stopping quickly. And intent can be hard to prove. The Dr’s prior history against cyclist is a factor however.

Actually, there is a provision in the California Motor Vehicle Code that addresses this exact situation:


21750. The driver of a vehicle overtaking another vehicle or a bicycle proceeding in the same direction shall pass to the left at a safe distance without interfering with the safe operation of the overtaken vehicle or bicycle, subject to the limitations and exceptions hereinafter stated.

But this isn't really about a violation of the motor vehicle code. It's a criminal assault, and while I haven't specifically looked up the criminal code, I'm sure that there are any number of crimes that the driver could be charged with.

It's also worth noting that liability insurance does not cover intentional conduct. Regardless of whether the driver is ultimately convicted of a crime, I would imagine that the cyclists will bring a civil suit, and there is a significant likelihood that his car insurance carrier will deny coverage, requiring him to pay the costs of the suit and any resulting damages out of his own pocket.

Actually, there is a provision in the California Motor Vehicle Code that addresses this exact situation:



But this isn't really about a violation of the motor vehicle code. It's a criminal assault, and while I haven't specifically looked up the criminal code, I'm sure that there are any number of crimes that the driver could be charged with.

It's also worth noting that liability insurance does not cover intentional conduct. Regardless of whether the driver is ultimately convicted of a crime, I would imagine that the cyclists will bring a civil suit, and there is a significant likelihood that his car insurance carrier will deny coverage, requiring him to pay the costs of the suit and any resulting damages out of his own pocket.

Based on his occupation and the car he's driving I'm sure money is no object to him. :mad: