by Annie Weisner
Picture yourself outside of town, driving along a midsize country road. You’re going more slowly than normal, carrying a heavy load, looking for your turn, or trying to keep your kids from fighting in the backseat. Abruptly, another driver overtakes you, blaring their horn. You move over to the right to allow them to pass. They do, still laying on the horn, coming up on your left side. As they pass, they pull from the left lane into yours, intentionally grazing your car, then speeding off. As you pull over to assess the damage, you manage to get a picture of their license plate with your phone. You call the police, relieved that no one’s hurt.
What would you expect to happen? With a picture of the driver’s license plate and a description of the car, would you expect the aggressive driver to be held accountable? Would you expect charges to be filed in response to such an intentionally dangerous act? Would you expect the police to question the owner of the car? Or would you expect, a month later, to be told your case is hopeless?
Now, imagine yourself in the same scenario, but riding a bicycle. About a month ago, a group of cyclists in Champaign County found themselves in this exact situation.
AGGRESSION OUT OF NOWHERE
…
Dornick recounts what the police told him. “The police officer drove to the [home of] the owner of the car. They saw the car parked at his house. They knocked on the door and there was no answer. They looked at the car and said there was no damage to the car, and they went home. And that was the entire investigation of the case. To my knowledge — and we followed up on this many times — no one was actually ever questioned or spoken to.“
And that was it. Dornick and Higley were told there was nothing else the police could do, despite having never spoken with the owner of the vehicle. Their investigation ended with that unopened door.
When contacted for this article, Champaign County Sheriff Dan Walsh explained things differently. “The investigation is still being actively worked,“ Walsh stated in an email. “Since this is an ongoing investigation, I have no further comment for right now.“
Ed. note: We attempted to rectify this apparent contradiction with Sheriff Walsh yesterday afternoon, but did not get a response by the time the article posted. We’ll insert any response that we receive as it arrives.
The official reason given to Higley and Dornick was the lack of an eyewitness who could identify the driver from a line-up. Due to the heavily tinted windows of the car and the aggressive speed at which it overtook the riders, none of the cyclists got a clear view of the driver. Without cooperation or a confession from the driver, it is likely that a visual ID would be necessary for a criminal case to proceed. In this case, however, the owner of the vehicle was never interviewed, leaving a multitude of questions unanswered. Was the owner driving at the time of the hit, and if not, would the owner come forward with the name of the driver? Would the driver confess, given the weight of evidence against him and the large number of eyewitnesses? Why didn’t the deputies attempt to elicit a confession?
FIVE SURGERIES LATER, STILL NO SATISFACTION
…
“So [the sheriff’s department] contacted the people, and they of course said, ‘No, I didn’t do it.‘ And that was the last that they did.“
Sheriff Walsh stated, once again in an email, “I do not believe sufficient facts exist to criminally charge an individual concerning this incident and, barring something unusual happening, I do not think this situation will change.“
…
“A lot of the reason that bikes have a really bad reputation and people don’t respect bikes is that people don’t ride in a manner that gets bikes respect,“ says Dornick. As a motorist, “it’s hard to justify taking time out of your day, going all out of your way to make sure this cyclist is safe when he doesn’t care what he’s doing with you. It’s definitely mutual. We need some cooperation, and hopefully we don’t have to have someone get hurt before it starts happening.“
https://www.smilepolitely.com/news/hit-and-run._then_what/oldId.20100727125301272
Biking in Baltimore