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Police shoot man who mowed down bicyclists

Thread Starter
TS
tch

tch

What do I know; I'm just some guy on the internet.
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Marty, yeah, I've got a lawyer. I'm not really into the civil lawsuit thing, but advisors told me that my health insurance would sue him to recoup their medical costs and if I didn't get in line, he'd be paying someone but I wouldn't get a cent.
I don't know what will result: in MA there is a 3-year timeline allowance, so things are moving slowly.
 

teejaywhy

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Curious about the outcome of this sad event, I tracked down the latest news:

From the White Mountain Independent

Chock gets 26.5 years in prison for bike race carnage
By RT Lynch Justice Reporter Dec 2, 2022

"HOLBROOK—Shawn Michael Chock was sentenced to 26½ years in prison on Nov. 9 in the Navajo County Superior Court for killing one bike cyclist and seriously injuring eight others when he plowed his truck into a group of racers during the Bike the Bluff event on June 19, 2021, on the Deuce of Clubs in Show Low..."

full story:
https://www.wmicentral.com/news/lat...cle_85be8c82-ffa0-5184-80b0-88edaa8744e6.html
 

Bruno Schull

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OK, folks settle in. Here comes a story.

I am 50 years old. When I was about 20, I was riding with the team of road cyclicts I raced with, and we were deliberately struck by a woman on a long straight road. Police estimate she got her car up to abput 120 mph before she ran right into the back of our group. One of my friends was killed. The other was in a coma for 3 months and had his legh amputated below the knee. He went on to win world chamnpionships and olympic medals at the as a handicapped athlete. The other cyclists in the group had broken arms, ribs, legs, and so on. I was the only person of the eight not struck. I was trained as an EMT and did my best to help. The driver fled the scene, abandoned her car, and hid. Later, she turned herself in to police. She was crazy. She said she wanted to kill more people. She was found not guilty for reasons on insanity. I beleive she may still be in a mentally ill prison.

Guess what? Despite prior vehicle assaults, she was insurred. She had a 300,000 dollar AAA insurance policy. 100,000 went to the family of the deceased. 100,000 went to the boy who lost his leg. The other 100,000 was split between the remaining 6. As the cyclist who was injured the least I received 10,000. I went to Italy and lived for three months bicycle racing. I learned some Italian, had an Italian girflfriend, and so on. But that event completely derailed my life and f*cked me up. Things were never the same again.

Around the same time, I had an aquatintence who was shot in the arm by the occupant of a pick up truck while riding. The same cyclist wal also run over and dragged by a drunk driver, who got out, looked under the truck, and then reversed, draging him again. He has scars like a burn victim all over his body.

Two female bike racers I knew were stuck and killed by vehicles.

Many others I knew were badly injured, hospitalized for weeks, and so on.

I have been yelled at, cursed at, squeezed, pushed and nudged by cars too many times to remember. Once, a driver passed, then slowed down, sweared at me through thre window, spit at me, rolled the window up and kept spitting, so that the saliva ran down the glass, then swerved to push me into parked cars, then, when I rode up on his window, swerved the other way, pushing me into oncoming traffic. At first, I just memorized his license plate,and vowed to report him. Then something switched inside, and I said to myself, "F*ck it--I'm gonnal kill thast guy." I chased him down, found him stopped at a red light in the city center, kicked in his drivers window, and went after him. Unbenownst to me, there was a plainclothes police officer in an unmarked car behind me! Whoops! I got charged with assault and battery. The bike racing community came together, and a well know local criminal attorney, who usually defended drug dealers, murdererers, and so on, took my case pro bono. He was famous for being a fast talking, aggresive, type A personality, and a tenacious former bike racer, who used to say things like, "One of these days, I'm gonna nail a f*cking car driver to the wall!" When we first spoke, I said, "There were no witnesses to the original incident, just a policeman's incriminating testimony. What are we gonna do?" He replied, "You got a great case!" I asked, "What are you going to say?" He replied, "I'm gonna go in there and tell them to f*ck off." On court day, I stood next ti him and repeated ebverything he told me to say, as the judges, prosecutor, and lawyer went through their procedures. He told them that 1) I had been part of the accident described above, which they all knew about, because it had been all over the news, and 2) that he was prepared to try the case himself if necessary. The case was dismissed. No charges on my record, which I good, because I later became, and have remained, a high school teacher, which would not have been possible with that charge on my record. It's fun to joke about lawyers, but when there's nothing like a good lawyer when you need one.

Basically, the sight of cyclists drives some people into a rage of hatred, jealousy, superiority, inferiority...I don't know. But it's a real effect that least to many lost lives.

I don't ride a road bike anymore. I consider it much, much, much too dangerous. I prefer to stick to mellow singletrack on my mountain bike.

My former bike racer self would be ashamed of what I have become, a 50 year old father with hair leges, riding around the forest in shorts and sneakers, but that's life, I guess.

I'm glad they charged this driver with murder and sentenced him to 26 years. Good outcome.
 

chilehed

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I chased him down, found him stopped at a red light in the city center, kicked in his drivers window, and went after him.
I can't count the number of times I've wanted to do that.

I did most of my bicycle riding in Miami, and oddly enough had no memorable experiences like that there. But motorcycles? I and everyone I knew had multiple stories of people intentionally trying to run us off the road; we all ended up riding with some sort of deadly weapon because it was a given that someone was going to attempt to murder us on the road, and some of us did have to use them in self-defense. People can be nuts.

It's good to hear that one of those folks isn't on the street any more.
 

scott43

So much better than a pro
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I'll be the exception here. Forty years of bikes and motorcycles and never had any issues like this. In fact, cars gave my motorcycle plenty of space and were very courteous. For sure my biker brothers and sisters were far worse than the cars... Or cagers as they are wont to say..

Even these last few years, riding up north in the country on my bicycle the pick ups with fuck Trudeau banners give me plenty of space. I wave thanks and always chat with folks when I have a chance. At least up here, the good far outnumber the bad. For now I suppose.. forever I hope...
 

Tony Storaro

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OK, folks settle in. Here comes a story.

I am 50 years old. When I was about 20, I was riding with the team of road cyclicts I raced with, and we were deliberately struck by a woman on a long straight road. Police estimate she got her car up to abput 120 mph before she ran right into the back of our group. One of my friends was killed. The other was in a coma for 3 months and had his legh amputated below the knee. He went on to win world chamnpionships and olympic medals at the as a handicapped athlete. The other cyclists in the group had broken arms, ribs, legs, and so on. I was the only person of the eight not struck. I was trained as an EMT and did my best to help. The driver fled the scene, abandoned her car, and hid. Later, she turned herself in to police. She was crazy. She said she wanted to kill more people. She was found not guilty for reasons on insanity. I beleive she may still be in a mentally ill prison.

Guess what? Despite prior vehicle assaults, she was insurred. She had a 300,000 dollar AAA insurance policy. 100,000 went to the family of the deceased. 100,000 went to the boy who lost his leg. The other 100,000 was split between the remaining 6. As the cyclist who was injured the least I received 10,000. I went to Italy and lived for three months bicycle racing. I learned some Italian, had an Italian girflfriend, and so on. But that event completely derailed my life and f*cked me up. Things were never the same again.

Around the same time, I had an aquatintence who was shot in the arm by the occupant of a pick up truck while riding. The same cyclist wal also run over and dragged by a drunk driver, who got out, looked under the truck, and then reversed, draging him again. He has scars like a burn victim all over his body.

Two female bike racers I knew were stuck and killed by vehicles.

Many others I knew were badly injured, hospitalized for weeks, and so on.

I have been yelled at, cursed at, squeezed, pushed and nudged by cars too many times to remember. Once, a driver passed, then slowed down, sweared at me through thre window, spit at me, rolled the window up and kept spitting, so that the saliva ran down the glass, then swerved to push me into parked cars, then, when I rode up on his window, swerved the other way, pushing me into oncoming traffic. At first, I just memorized his license plate,and vowed to report him. Then something switched inside, and I said to myself, "F*ck it--I'm gonnal kill thast guy." I chased him down, found him stopped at a red light in the city center, kicked in his drivers window, and went after him. Unbenownst to me, there was a plainclothes police officer in an unmarked car behind me! Whoops! I got charged with assault and battery. The bike racing community came together, and a well know local criminal attorney, who usually defended drug dealers, murdererers, and so on, took my case pro bono. He was famous for being a fast talking, aggresive, type A personality, and a tenacious former bike racer, who used to say things like, "One of these days, I'm gonna nail a f*cking car driver to the wall!" When we first spoke, I said, "There were no witnesses to the original incident, just a policeman's incriminating testimony. What are we gonna do?" He replied, "You got a great case!" I asked, "What are you going to say?" He replied, "I'm gonna go in there and tell them to f*ck off." On court day, I stood next ti him and repeated ebverything he told me to say, as the judges, prosecutor, and lawyer went through their procedures. He told them that 1) I had been part of the accident described above, which they all knew about, because it had been all over the news, and 2) that he was prepared to try the case himself if necessary. The case was dismissed. No charges on my record, which I good, because I later became, and have remained, a high school teacher, which would not have been possible with that charge on my record. It's fun to joke about lawyers, but when there's nothing like a good lawyer when you need one.

Basically, the sight of cyclists drives some people into a rage of hatred, jealousy, superiority, inferiority...I don't know. But it's a real effect that least to many lost lives.

I don't ride a road bike anymore. I consider it much, much, much too dangerous. I prefer to stick to mellow singletrack on my mountain bike.

My former bike racer self would be ashamed of what I have become, a 50 year old father with hair leges, riding around the forest in shorts and sneakers, but that's life, I guess.

I'm glad they charged this driver with murder and sentenced him to 26 years. Good outcome.

Maaaan….that’s some sick stuff right there. People get killed while road biking around here as well but it is always an accident, never heard of someone intentionally striking a cyclist.
 
Last edited:

Hankj

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A data point: I got hit last November by a guy in a pickup truck. I was riding well onto the shoulder (witness interviews confirmed), broad daylight, on a flat, straight section of road. Luckily no really bad long-term damages other than a separated AC shoulder joint, but I spent three days in the hospital as they monitored and treated internal bleeding from hematomas and dealt with my road rash. BIke/helmet/clothing damaged or trashed.

Driver had had 6 accidents/crashes in last 10 years and several citations for moving violations (verified by DMV). FIeld sobriety test at my crash was negative. He was charged and went to criminal court. I wrote a victim's statement stressing the need to keep people safe from someone who was so obviously an incompetent or uncaring driver.

I just got the notice of resolution last week: 60 day loss of license and $150 fine. Period.
So now he's out there driving and I'm wondering who will meet him again.
Such a joke, we treat driving like a sacred god given right, not a privilege and responsibility
 

Hankj

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I got hit twice cycling this summer. Once a driver wheeled a right turn right across a separate raised bike lane to get into a condo parking lot. Didn't look and sent me over her hood.

Next one on a separate protected multi-use path some goony techbro on a high speed e-scooter got too close to the edge of the path, flipped out and overcorrected. Smashed me dead on head on both of us going about 20 mph. It was a blasting impact like an ugly NFL punt return tackle, whole stadium goes ohhhhh and then quiet. I'm a big guy (so was he, very solid dude in body armor and full face helmet). My forearm went into his chest so hard that it squashed my skin and It kind of blew up and my whole lower arm was completely covered in blood. Not my first hard impact or crazy fall so was able to save myself a little, but I lay there for quite a while doing the do I need an ambulance inventory. Concussion too. Might have sent a smaller person to the hospital and could have killed a kid or old person.

What really bothers me about these crashes is that they both happened in separate protected bicycle and multi-use lanes. I'm extremely paranoid about being hit by a car cycling. People get killed in droves road riding in the Puget Sound area. I'm not going to sacrifice myself to be the person who normalizes cycling. But I felt safe in the fully separate protected lanes.

Not anymore I guess. Been driving to long stretches of gravel riding, riding Zwift indoors. I realize you can't control all risks, I'm about getting smashed by a shitty driver when riding in the city and suburbs and excerpts and country roads just seems so likely if you ride alot.

I want to move to some place like Bend Oregon that has absolutely excellent cycling infrastructure in some parts of the city, and hundreds of miles of mellow dirt riding. It would just be such a huge bummer to be killed or disabled by a bad driver, leave my family who needs me behind, miss out on a happy active retirement and I've worked a long time trying to build up. I feel like I've got a better chance in a place where some larger proportion of a smaller population is on the same page about cycling. And where you can stay on dirt, away from nearly all cars and most of the yahoos on evehicles who haven't earned the speed they can't handle.
 

David

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I had a guy slow down next to me and push me into the gravel off the pavement so I pulled my frame pump and put a dent in his trunk lid. He stopped, I jumped off my bike still holding the pump and ran straight at him screaming and he freaked and drove away. Turned out the police knew exactly who he was. He later showed up and apologized with his wife in tow...
 

Hankj

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I had a guy slow down next to me and push me into the gravel off the pavement so I pulled my frame pump and put a dent in his trunk lid. He stopped, I jumped off my bike still holding the pump and ran straight at him screaming and he freaked and drove away. Turned out the police knew exactly who he was. He later showed up and apologized with his wife in tow...
It's interesting to me how many sedentary slobby drivers get aggressive to cyclist because cyclists are "pussies." But cyclists are largely athletes who know how to suffer, with at minimum pack a lunch VO2 max, at best cross training bad asses. I read recently that many UFC guys ride a lot as their downcycle maintenance. I'm sure your slob seething behind his windshield got a reality check ✅. I've had similar results a few times when couch potatoes thought they were fine threatening me with a vehicle. People aren't thinking straight ....
 

markojp

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Yes, I've been sworn at, spit on, and run off the road. Angry soccer moms in the 90's, but now without exception, white guys in pick ups. I always thought Ford should do a public service ad with F150 drivers that are also cyclists... hell, i know some. I won't ride in Snohomish Co. WA because of angry white dudes in pick ups. The roads are nice, but nope. Maybe if I open carried while riding, but I guess I'd rather not.
 

Lorenzzo

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I used to do a lot of road cycling. The PC area has some great roads for that. But with Covid it seems there's been a surge in craziness. After several incidents I won't go into, I gave up road cycling. I still have an awesome Domani hanging upside down in my garage. These days I aerobicize other ways. I miss it but we just have too many angry truck guys around here.
 

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