Los Angeles Doctor in Road Rage Bicycle Accident to Stand Trial
A motorist who seriously injured two bicyclists in a road rage related bicycle accident in Los Angeles will soon stand trial in the case. Christopher Thompson, a physician, will face one felony count of reckless driving causing injury and two felony counts of battery with serious injury, in the accident that took place in July, the Los Angeles Times reports.
The incident enraged the bicycling community in Los Angeles at the time. Thompson was driving down a residential street in the city when he noticed two bicyclists riding side-by-side in front of him. He honked, and the two made way for him. As he passed, Thompson yelled at them to ride single file. At this, one of the bicyclists shouted an expletive, and this apparently sent the doctor over the edge. He turned and slammed on his brakes, with the result that both bicyclists crashed into his car. The two, Ron Peterson and Christian Stoehr were sent flying from their bicycles, one of them falling to the pavement and the other flying through the rear window of the doctor’s car. Both were seriously injured.
Peterson suffered a broken nose and teeth, and cuts on his face including his nose and upper lip. Stoehr suffered a separated shoulder, requiring surgery that continues to bother him with consistent soreness. That it was a road rage incident was clear right at the scene of the accident, when Thompson told police officers who arrived at the scene of the bicycle accident that he had deliberately stopped his car in front of the cyclists “to teach them a lesson.” He also complained to the officers that bicyclists were always using the street, and this seems to have infuriated him, all culminating in this incident. The police officer’s testimony seems to have been one of the factors that led to the judge to order that Thompson stand trial.
Altercations with bicyclists seem to be have been a feature of Thompson’s life. He also faces a misdemeanor reckless driving charge stemming from an injury caused to another bicyclist in another accident. Two other cyclists also came forward to give their testimony, in an attempt to make sure that Thompson would face trial.
Thompson, through his lawyer, has tried to downplay the “road rage” factor insisting that it had been overplayed. If convicted, Thompson is looking at four to five years in a state prison.
Road rage may be defined as the aggressive use of a vehicle to cause harm to another motorist, pedestrian or bicyclist. That road rage was the factor at play here seems to be accepted, with Thompson’s remarks after the accident proving this. Unfortunately, it’s not hard to find people like Thompson who seem to think that streets are made only for motorists, and should be kept clear of pesky bicyclists. There is a lack of acceptance of the fact that bicyclists deserve to be on the same street with motorists that’s behind many road rage incidents involving motorists and bicyclists.
For an educated and informed man like Thompson to so willingly and coldly place the lives of two bicyclists at risk because he didn’t want them on his street is appalling. Thompson deserves the harshest punishment. At the least it should send a signal that ignoring a bicyclist’s rights won’t be tolerated.
The Reeves Law Group is a law firm with offices throughout California dedicated exclusively to the representation of personal injury victims, including victims of bicycle accidents. Please visit our website at trlglaw.com. If you desire a free consultation on a personal injury matter, please call us at (800) 644-8000 or email us.
I wrote about your post in my latest entry, and also included your law firm as a reference in my newly growing blog:
The Bicycle Librarian
A few interested cyclists, myself included, are trying to form a sort of bike legal collective here in Los Angeles…
Thank you for representing the Rights of Cyclists!
-Ingrid
@ February 6th, 2009 at 12:59