Results tagged “mandevillecanyon”

Remember last year when Dr. Christopher Thompson slammed on his breaks on Mandeville Canyon Road so bicyclists he apparently was annoyed with would crash into him? He was found guilty by a jury on all seven counts this afternoon. "Thompson was accused of assault with a deadly weapon, reckless driving causing specified bodily injury, battery with serious bodily injury and mayhem," among other charges relating to two incidents, one of them being the July 4th, 2008 incident, according to VeloNews. Last week, the LA Times looked into the case, saying "bike riders see the case as a test of the system's support for their rights." Looks like the system was on their side this time. Congrats!

Dr. Christopher Thomas Thompson pleaded not guilty today to charges following a July 4th incident where he slammed on his breaks causing one cyclist's face to partially smash through the back window and sending another one rolling on the ground. Thompson told police, before he was arrested, he wanted to teach the cyclists a lesson. Mandeville Canyon in Brentwood is a popular but narrow hillside road for groups of cyclists.

Dr. Thompson, the emergency room physician who stands accused of the Mandeville Canyon road rage incident that left two cyclists seriously injured, appeared in Los Angeles Superior Court yesterday for his preliminary hearing and it did not go well for him.

       

Dr. Christopher Thompson of Mandeville Canyon, the man accused of assaulting two cyclists with his vehicle on Mandeville Canyon Road during the morning of Fourth of July, had his day in court today. At 8:30 a.m. he appeared at the airport courthouse, pleaded innocent to felony charges of assault with a deadly weapon reckless driving causing injury (2) and battery with serious bodily injury (2) and the special allegation of causing great bodily injury. His lawyer spoke on his behalf and said that the incident was an accident.

Last night, one of Los Angeles' best locally focused radio programs, Which Way, L.A.? focused in on the Mandeville Canyon "road rage" motorist vs. bicyclist incident among other bicycle issues around Los Angeles.

Although we nagged on Councilman Bill Rosendahl this morning, we had a candid chat with his office this morning afterwards. Things were overlooked and last night's meeting was not meant to be a secret, even if it was closed, they said.

Councilman Bill Rosendahl played to the cycling community last week when he announced that he was convening a Community Forum to address issues raised in the aftermath of the Mandeville Canyon "road rage" incident of July 4th.

Dan Guitierrez and Brian DeSousa of Dual Chase Productions spent the weekend riding Mandeville Canyon and videotaping their experiences, creating a video that demonstrates the relationship between good cycling behavior and good motoring behavior.

Cyclists from around the City were looking forward to Councilman Bill Rosendahl's Community Forum scheduled for tonight and it was that significant citywide interest that may have been responsible for causing the Forum to be canceled.

After quickly championing the rights of vehicles and bicycles sharing the road in the aftermath of the Mandeville Canyon "road rage" incident, Los Angeles City Councilman Bill Rosendahl has canceled this Monday's community town hall that he quickly put together last week (he even changed locations once to accommodate the expected large crowd comfortably).

Yesterday, the District Attorney's office filed a total of four counts of criminal charges against Dr. Christopher Thompson of Mandeville Canyon, the suspect in the Fourth of July Mandeville Canyon "Road Rage" incident in which he allegedly slammed on his brakes causing two cyclists behind him injury (see photos/background here).

Update #2: The meeting has been canceled. More information here.

July Fouth's "road rage" incident on Mandeville Canyon was reported here on Monday morning and the story quickly gathered steam with TV stations clamoring to interview the cyclists, the Police Captain reporting that the case would proceed as a criminal assault case and then culminating with Councilman Bill Rosendahl going on TV (video above) and referring to the Cyclists' Bill of Rights (PDF version), which addresses equality and access as basic civil rights that ensure cyclists their place on the road.

Yesterday, Chuck Henry of NBC contacted LAist to gather more information regarding the Mandeville Canyon "road rage" incident that landed two cyclists in the hospital. This two minute segment aired last night during the 11:00 p.m. news. CBS/KCAL also aired their own version of the story.

Shocked by the horrific road raging motorist vs. cyclists incident on Mandeville Canyon Road this past holiday weekend, the cycling community has rallied in the last four days to fight for justice and to ensure that Los Angeles city leadership, law enforcement and the judicial system respond to incidents such as this.