Motorcycle Mob in NYC

[The_Douger]

If that was me, I'd have taken some of those guys to the rail if they were following me like that.

I have no sympathy for the motorcyclist that was injured in an unauthorized motorcycle rally, who attempted to stop a vehicle with 50 other dudes in the middle of the freeway.

[Omaha 680]

Just saw on the local news that the guy who intentionally slowed down in front of the SUV was in court today in Manhattan. His attorney spoke to media outside the courthouse claiming that after his client's motorcycle was struck, he stopped and remained on the highway and didn't follow the chase. He is claiming he didn't participate in the beating and he doesn't know any of the bikers who vandalized the car or assaulted the SUV driver. He was released on $1500 bail. The report didn't say what the charges are.

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[Jeff Lebowski]

Just saw on the local news that the guy who intentionally slowed down in front of the SUV was in court today in Manhattan. His attorney spoke to media outside the courthouse claiming that after his client's motorcycle was struck, he stopped and remained on the highway and didn't follow the chase. He is claiming he didn't participate in the beating and he doesn't know any of the bikers who vandalized the car or assaulted the SUV driver. He was released on $1500 bail. The report didn't say what the charges are.

Sent from my SCH-I535 using Tapatalk 2

Perhaps he should be suing some of his fellow bikers.

[Dwight Schr-ute]

From this CNN article:

The incident has drawn attention because much of it was captured in a video that shows Edwards just before the alleged assault.
Edwards is one of the bikers seen pounding on the windows of a Range Rover after it was forced to stop in traffic following a chase by bikers -- an account confirmed by a police official.
Edwards may have been trying to protect the driver of the SUV who had come under attack, a law enforcement official said.

[TexTechCoug]

The Range Rover driver overreacted. The bikers were only gathering around the vehicle to find out what happened!

They only were in a pack of at least 100 breaking every traffic law known to man while intimidating and threatening everyone. The biker deliberately caused the accident and they had surrounded the poor man and his family. He is a better man than I am for not killing several of them. I watched the long (still selectively edited) version of the incident and I can promise you I would have been running motorcyclists off the road until they stayed a half mile away from me.

[smokymountainrain]

They only were in a pack of at least 100 breaking every traffic law known to man while intimidating and threatening everyone. The biker deliberately caused the accident and they had surrounded the poor man and his family. He is a better man than I am for not killing several of them. I watched the long (still selectively edited) version of the incident and I can promise you I would have been running motorcyclists off the road until they stayed a half mile away from me.

[SeattleUte]

Were the bikers really slashing the family's tires, beating on the car, and the like (before the driver ran over anyone)? If not, he shouldn't have deliberately run over anyone. Yes, the bikers were highly obnoxious and took big risks, but none of them deserved to die or be paralyzed. But if the bikers were attacking and vandalizing the car, and physically threatening it's hard to blame the dad for stepping on the gas.

[old_gregg]

paralyzed bro's habitual speeding led massachusetts to revoke his driving privileges until 2017.

[smokymountainrain]

Were the bikers really slashing the family's tires, beating on the car, and the like (before the driver ran over anyone)? If not, he shouldn't have deliberately run over anyone. Yes, the bikers were highly obnoxious and took big risks, but none of them deserved to die or be paralyzed. But if the bikers were attacking and vandalizing the car, and physically threatening it's hard to blame the dad for stepping on the gas.

One of the primary issues here is that those guys on the bikes put that driver in a situation where he had to make decisions he should never have had to make. He had his family in the car. How far does he go to protect them if he feels they are in danger? Is it legal to run over a guy? Should he run over the guy even if it were legal? Should he just stop let them do whatever it is they are intending to do and hope things turn out okay? Does he simply sacrifice himself or his family because he might kill or paralyze a guy if he attempts to get away? These are decisions none of us should ever have to make.

My biggest question is where were the police? That chase went on plenty long enough that had he called 911 in the beginning, the cops would have surely arrived prior to the final stop where they pulled him out and beat him up, right?

[Omaha 680]

One of the primary issues here is that those guys on the bikes put that driver in a situation where he had to make decisions he should never have had to make. He had his family in the car. How far does he go to protect them if he feels they are in danger? Is it legal to run over a guy? Should he run over the guy even if it were legal? Should he just stop let them do whatever it is they are intending to do and hope things turn out okay? Does he simply sacrifice himself or his family because he might kill or paralyze a guy if he attempts to get away? These are decisions none of us should ever have to make.

My biggest question is where were the police? That chase went on plenty long enough that had he called 911 in the beginning, the cops would have surely arrived prior to the final stop where they pulled him out and beat him up, right?

The police were probably stuck in traffic. Seriously.

[smokymountainrain]

The police were probably stuck in traffic. Seriously.

If so, that is really sad.

[scottie]

The video's been removed by the user.

This one has not been removed:

[Pheidippides]

Riding a motorcycle is a risk. Every good rider knows this and takes precautions when on the road. I have been very angry at cars before - I've flipped off more than a few drivers, which is not a good idea either because the car will always win. But brake checking on a motorcycle is perhaps the dumbest thing you can do. Correct procedure is to slow down and let tailgaters pass, but I digress.

These people are not good riders. They are exactly the sort of people who make it hard for the rest of us, and by being as stupid as they were one of them is now paralyzed. Can't say I feel that much sympathy for him.

[Paperback Writer]

These people are not good riders. They are exactly the sort of people who make it hard for the rest of us, and by being as stupid as they were one of them is now paralyzed. Can't say I feel that much sympathy for him.

If the Boston Globe article that old_gregg linked is to believed that guy is the "poster boy" for all that is wrong with motorcycling. Didn't have a motorcyclists license or a driver's license and with multiple unpaid speeding tickets leading to being banned from driving until 2017.

I hope this incident leads to a discontinuance of this type of behavior by morotcyclists who link up to form weekend or one-day gangs. It has happened several times in Dallas, mostly on holiday weekends where motorcyclists force drivers off the road and vandalize their vehicles or delay holiday traffic. Police can only show up and then the mororcyclist leave for another highway to cause problems. A few months ago, there was a news story asking for sympathy for a motorcyclist who police did catch. They confiscated his helmet camera that showed similar but less severe incidents. He claimed his motorcyclists plates were not intentially blurred (yeah right). The local news were implying police over steppiing their bound but I knew better. I had a close call with one of these motorcycle groups on a Dallas highway over a Memorial Day weekend. Fortuantely, it was on a stretch of highway that is part of my daily commute so I was able to maneuver around/speed around their attempts to block me. They followed me all the way to a police station from which they promptly sped away once they figured it out. The cops said that this was becomming a more frequent occurrance and they were doing their best to counter it. Maybe the reality that motorcyclists can sustain serious injury while pulling this crap will be enough to finally put an end to it.

[Katy Lied]

One of the bad features of the internet is that you can organize a bunch of yahoos and create chaos this way. Even the Hells Angels have protocols, like any other organization that wants to live past 1 or 2 days.