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What happened? Well, that depends on who you ask. The police say, via an unsolicited witness, that a cyclist, possibly drunk, crashed into the Hummer when he approached the passenger side door (apparently, he wanted to confront the occupants, but was going too fast). The group of cyclists say the Hummer purposely came up from behind and took one of their own out (full description of cyclist side of story here).
Basically, here's what both sides can agree on: something happened between the hummer and a cyclist, who got injured. Other cyclists surrounded the Hummer to ensure the driver didn't leave the scene. Well, he did leave the scene and in the process, ran over three bicycles dropped by riders moving out of the way. The police arrived, talked to each party, interview witnesses and call it a day, arresting no one, or as Sgt. Kevin Moore told LAist, they "split the baby." That's because to the police, it seemed that the Hummer driver had begun the incident by obnoxiously honking his horn at the cyclists rather than driving around them--it was 2 a.m. with zero traffic. They said he probably had feared for his and the passengers' safety when his car was surrounded by cyclists, making it okay to leave the scene of a hit and run.
As for the injured cyclist, he made it home Friday afternoon from the hospital, luckily with minor injuries. "It was so fast, i don't believe what happened," he explained to LAist. "The next thing you know, I'm in the air. I'm really lucky nothing is broken." Details were fuzzy to him, but one thing was for sure: he didn't hit or even approach the Hummer--it came out of nowhere sideswiping him.
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I guess that means the cyclist will have to get an atty and take the bastard through the civil courts.
JMO, I think anyone who drives a Hummer should be arrested just for being an asshole!
Thanks, Zach. I've been reading about this all weekend, but this is the first report I've seen that has provided any context. From the cyclist's perspective — which I tend to believe — it's outrageous that the police could have let the driver leave. At least this explains what the hell they could have been thinking.
As for jrb's comment, in my experience, civil court would just be a waste of time. The defendant's attorney would simply use the police report to argue that the driver was justified. Meanwhile, the riders aren't likely to find an attorney who would even take the case, since attorney fees are based on a percentage of the settlement, which is usually based on property damage, medical expenses and lost wages. Since only one rider suffered minor injuries, any settlement would likely to be too small to make it worth a lawyer's time. Been there, done that.
If they're lucky, they may — may — be able to get his insurance company to replace the bikes.
Honestly, we have such a permissive attitude to vehicular crimes.
They should have no tolerance to the guy in the hummer. Instead of monetary damages, I'd like the driver to lose his license.