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July 7, 2008
Road Rage Motorist vs. Cyclists on Mandeville Canyon Road
Update: The outcome of this incident has been updated here.
On July 4th, about 300 cyclists gathered at the Manhattan Beach Starbucks for a Holiday Ride to the top of Mandeville Canyon Road in Brentwood. The Holiday Ride is a regular event that takes place 5-6 times a year drawing cyclists from all over the greater LA area.
Mandeville Canyon, off Sunset Blvd., is a steep and challenging ride and the crowd quickly thinned out with some cyclists racing to the top while others rode socially, catching up with old friends and savoring the journey.
On the descent, a cyclist in the back fell, breaking his collarbone and injuring himself seriously enough to require medical attention and a ride to the hospital in an ambulance. Christian Stoehr, 29, and Ron Peterson, 40, stayed behind until the ambulance arrived and then they began their descent down the hill.
Christian Stoehr recounts "We were riding downhill at approximately 30 mph when a car came up behind us, must have been doing 50 mph, and the driver started honking at us. We moved to the right in single file within seconds and the motorist pulled along Ron and started screaming at him. He then pulled in front of us with 3-5 feet to spare and slammed on his brakes, giving us no time to stop. I swerved and almost made it, clipping the car and flying through the air and landing in the street. Ron had no room to move and he went straight into the back of the car, putting his face through the back window."
The driver of the vehicle stopped his car and continued the tirade, identifying himself as a Doctor but never offering medical attention.
Ron told the motorist to turn off the car and Christian sat on the hood of the car, afraid that the driver would drive off. The motorist continued the tirade, telling Christian to get his bike out of the street. Christian reported that they were afraid that the motorist would leave the scene.
A third cyclist, Chris Roberts, rode up and stepped in to make sure the motorist didn't leave. Christian collapsed on the side of the road as the ambulance from the top of the hill pulled up with the first injured cyclist. Paramedics jumped out and administered first aid.
Christian was banged up, collected road rash and was unable to move his right arm. Ron reports that "my nose was separated to the point that it was hanging off my face. They moved it to the side and pulled glass out of my face. My front two teeth are broken, they found a piece in the backseat mixed in with all the glass. I've got 90 stitches in my face."
Both cyclists ride with Synergy and both are accomplished racers. Ron is a CAT1 racer and former State Champion with 14 years of racing experience. Christian has a couple of years of racing under his belt and says "Ron is my racing coach and just a couple of months ago he conducted a safety class with exercises to teach us better bike handling skills. This meant I was better prepared to take evasive action and I almost made it! Ron had no room to move and ended up hitting the back of the car, putting his face through the back window."
Christian says "It'll be months before I can ride again, I was looking forward to some of the upcoming stage races but the season is over for me. Not only that, I'm a camera and steadicam operator so I'm going to be unable to work for months."
Their bodies are broken, their bikes are totaled but their resolve is stronger than ever.
"This isn't the first time that there's been an incident like this." says Ron. "In fact two cyclists from LAGrange were recently run off the road by a motorist who fits the same description as this one. They reported it but no charges were filed. Same road, same situation. We've got to work together to prosecute this guy to the full extent of the law before he kills somebody!"
Update: The outcome of this incident has been updated here.
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What about the doctor? Did police arrive? Did somebody get his info and any statements he made?
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This is the same type of person who would attempt to run us motorcyclists off the road.
I hope someone got this man's information and can press charges against him. If nothing else, if he really is a doctor, he can certainly get his license to practice medicine revoked!
This is absolutely appalling.
I wish everyone involved (except the driver of the car, a supposed doctor) a speedy recovery.
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I would advocate some vigilante justice for the scumbag motorist who perpetrated this act of attempted murder.
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i dont understand did he leave the scene? no license plate? no charges ? no cops? i guess the cop was at the atm according to a previous post...
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This story makes me feel sick. I hope you both heal fast.
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Jesus, what a disturbing story. :( This scares me.
And yeah....more info! What happened? Did he get arrested??
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I cannot believe the malicious nature of some drivers. Intentional use of a car as a deadly weapon in a case such as this should be considered attempted murder.
Cynergy riders are all very strong and experienced and if they can't avoid someone like this, what hope is there for the rest of us when encountering a raging motorist. I hope the driver gets locked up behind bars where he belongs.
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While this news it certainly infuriating, what's more so is reading only half a story.
What was the outcome with the driver? Was he lynched? Arrested?
I don't visit LAist often, and this story (which was emailed to me) is a great example of why I don't.
LAist, what's up with your lack of reporting standards? An article from a high school paper would have had more facts and coverage than this.
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Armin, we're working on the facts. Stephen is a volunteer like all the writers here. Four calls to watch commanders and public information officers at the LAPD provided little information. in fact, the watch commander at West LA division where this incident took place knew nothing at all of this incident. Only a West Traffic commander knew something and that was only from a brief he heard when he stepped into work.
It's in the detectives' hands and they are sometimes the hardest to reach, especially when your name is not LA Times.
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I rode Mandeville the night of July 3rd and I would like to know the house number of the person responsible for the attempted murder. I'm sure there has to be police report, right? Better to know where the criminals driving in the big cars live on that road.
People fly through Mandeville and West Ridge all the time.
Has the "doctor" been arrested yet?
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Armin,
Those are great questions and I would also like to know the outcome.
Imagine how the cyclists feel, not knowing what happened to the motorist who caused all of this.
When two motorists collide, insurance companies go to work, represent the insured parties, handle the police, follow up on the reports etc.
Cyclists don't have VIN numbers, they nurse their woulds and must also keep dialing, all in the hope that someone will take the call and have some information on the incident, the other party and the outcome, whether it's a traffic violation, a criminal violation or a situation that requires a civil suit.
This happened in Councilmember Rosendahl's District. Perhaps he knows what happened to the motorist. 213-473-7011
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Hey Zach
While I'm all for volunteer journalism, the presence of half naked American Apparel models gives me the impression that someone is making money off this site so why couldn't a few bucks be thrown the author's way so that he could take the time to find the pile of shattered glass on Mandeville Canyon road and maybe ask the closest residents if they witnessed anything? Someone on the block had to have been having a 4th of July BBQ.
Or maybe you could have waited a day before running the story in hopes that the LAPD would call back and provide some details? As it is, reading this story is as unsatisfying as spending 10 minutes with a fluffer.
Plus, in the age of everyone and their brother having a camera phone, did nobody get a picture of the assailant or his vehicle?
Surely Ron and Christian had a few more things to say than just a summary of their injuries. Or were they forbidden to speak about the incident on lawyers orders?
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Christian and I are teammates and Ron is my coach as well.
I do know that the driver was arrested for assault with a deadly weapon and that police officers waited at the hospital to take a statement from Ron.
This is in fact the same driver who tried to drive two riders off Mandeville Canyon Rd back in March. The riders contacted police and filed a report but nothing came of it besides a police visit to his residence and a warning.
This is the driver's information:
[Information Redacted by LAist Staff]
Everyone on the Cynergy team and the other local clubs (La Grange and Helen's especially) are collaborating to ensure this driver receives the highest penalties possible, both criminal and civil. We are all hoping they revoke his medical license. I can't imagine trusting an ER doctor who could inflict such injury upon another individual.
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FYI, the driver was arrested. Sounds like there are quite a few lawyers in the local cycling community that are volunteering to help these guys get after the driver. Not sure if this is the same guy as in a few other incidents on Mandeville in the last year or so, but regardless, he needs to be made the poster-child for what happens when you try to KILL someone!!
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Hey Joola
That's awesome info. If the La Grange guys this gent ran off the road are the same ones who I know who were ran off Mandeville a while back, then I know that they did file a civil suit against him.
Even if nothing came of that suit (or the visit from the police) the fact that there's already a paper trail documenting his behavior towards cyclists can only be good news when it comes to giving this clown the maximum penalty.
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Our office was notified of this horrible event, which happened in our council district, and immediately contacted LAPD.
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 collission. The investigation will be handled by WLA Detectives, who are seeking a criminal filing. When LAPD updates us on the progress, I will be sure to share that information here.
Mike Bonin
Chief of Staff
Office of Councilmember Bill Rosendahl
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Mike,
Thank you.
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Thank you Mr. Bonin!
Also, please refrain from putting personal information such as license plate numbers and street home addresses.
This post has highlighted the situation well enough and is floating around city hall now and that's a very good thing.
But we do not want to encourage vigilante justice here. Please let the powers that be do their job and we will keep an eye on the situation as it progresses.
An update will come soon this afternoon in the form of a new post. Stay tuned, thanks everyone.
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whatever happened to "do no harm"?
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my hopes and prayers go to the people involved. did they get the driver? please say 'yes'.
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This is absolutely terrible! I can't believe that people like that 'doctor' exist. He deserves to be put in jail immediately for attempted murder.
Best of luck in the coming action.
I wish those injured a speedy recovery.
And please keep us informed on any updates.
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What frightens me is that the likelihood of this type of motorist on cyclist (bicycle, motorcycle or scooter) road-rage incident will probably increase over the next few months and years. With more and more folks taking alternate, less-gas using, slower, two-wheeled forms of transportation, LA drivers are going to really have to get used to sharing the road--and often with fairly new or inexperienced riders who don't have the skills of the ones in this report.
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I went over to Cynergy during my lunch break to find out an update, and I see the same info I just heard is already posted. I'm glad that things are in motion to hopefully bring justice to this case. The fact that he was reported doing aggressive behavior toward cyclists in the past will hopefully warrant more serious action. He has no right to be on the road and no right to be treating patients as a medical professional.
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I wish the last three numbers of the license plate were displayed. I keep a journal of the license plates of drivers who harass me while I ride. The last three digits would be sufficient to identify if I have also had an incident with this driver (and would therefore like to talk with these cyclists lawyers) but would not be enough for "vigilante justice."
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My best well wishes to these Ron & Christian. Sorry you guys had to be the victim of this maniac - atrocious luck.
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I have been up and down Mandiville a hundred times in the past 4 year and can honestly say they are the rudest drivers in the area. I was up the hill on Saturday not knowing of this accident.....does anyone have further info if this person is going to be charged.
I know the police are quick to ticket cyclist for exceeding the speed limit...what about the people that drive 3000-lb bullets down that hill at 50 mph.
I am not for justice outside the law but the law better serve the people in this case!!
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Hats off to the Council office for getting and staying on top of this. Hats off to the LAPD for treating this as a homicide, which it should be.
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The license plate is easily found by googling the incident, it's on another blog. I won't post it here, although I note the Doc's name has now been published so I guess it's fair game.
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I rode with a group that same day up Mandeville, and came across the scene, post accident. My thoughts and well wishes are with Ron and Christian. Whilst I am no racer or extensively experienced rider, I have been riding for several years, and most recently see this type of behavior become more commonplace. I am happy to recall that there were a # of police units present as we rode past (4 cruisers) at the site well after Ron and Christian had been taken to the hospital.
I must say we did not know the magnitude of the event until now.
I hope they do pursue this individual all the way, and may him "pay" for his actions, which were clearly with the premeditated state to injure another human.
Thanks to all who have reported and lets not let this pass on as another "incident" but rather bring all of us who ride and whom are appalled by this, together.
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For anyone looking for updates on this, here you go:
http://laist.com/2008/07/07/update_on_bicycle_accident.php
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[information redacted by LAist staff]
this is the guy's info.
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[information redacted by LAist staff]
this is the guy's info.
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Although the driver's information is now easily locatable by a simple google search, I'm asking on behalf of the two injured riders that nobody do anything that could hurt their case in court.
Don't call him, don't email him, don't write him a letter or visit his house. Any of this could potentially damage their civil suit.
I'm not a lawyer and don't know all the rules about this stuff but this request came from the injured parties and their lawyers.
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Sorry guys, too many people are posting personal information here and we can't police it. We do not want to encourage any vigilante justice. The police are on the bicyclist's side in this case, let's let them do their job and we can follow the case from there.
The comments are now closed.