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Angry driver bites off part of cyclist's ear

Over in New Castle, Ind., Curtis A. Cross, has been accused of biting off a chunk of cyclist Jeffrey H. Guffey's ear on April 1.

The Star-Press of Muncie, Ind., reported that Guffey told police he shouted at a driver of a sport utility vehicle, "Slow down, there are kids out there!"

The SUV driver -- later identified as Cross -- pulled to the side of the street and got out of his vehicle, telling Guffey he "wasn't going to talk to him like that," according to a police report.

Guffey said he told the driver, "I'm just asking you to slow down. I don't want trouble, but there are kids out."

The man hit Guffey in the face, then "took him to the ground, where he struck him some more with his hands, then bit off his ear," city patrolman M. Chase Hightower said in a police report. "Guffey stated the man then got up and spit his ear out at him."

New Castle Police Chief James Nicholson said "a good chunk" of Guffey's left ear was torn off. Guffey was treated at a hospital. Cross has been charged with one count of battery resulting in serious bodily injury.

Here's a video from WISH-TV in Indianapolis about the incident:

Labels: bicycling, crime, Indiana

Roger 1 comments links to this post 10:57 PM

Saturday, January 05, 2008

Trail sabotage

Thanks to the miracle that is The Associated Press, I found about this man who is accused of sabotaging a mountain bike trail in Fullerton, Calif.

Warren John Wilson, 52, faces a single felony count of vandalism, police Sgt. Linda King told the AP.

As many as 50 holes were dug in a popular bike trail, some disguised with branches and brush. Some bikers along the trail reported being thrown over their handlebars when they rode over the deliberately dug holes, although no one was seriously injured.

Police say they caught him leaving the trail that runs parallel to Fullerton's Bud Turner Trail at Laguna Lake Park after fresh holes had been dug, King told the Orange County Register.

When detectives questioned him, Wilson said he had "almost been run over" by a mountain bike rider and began digging the holes and placing obstacles on the trail to retaliate, King told the Register.

There's nothing quite like desecration to exact some vigilante "justice." While it's entirely possible that the cyclist was at fault in not yielding to a walker, Wilson -- if convicted -- may find out the hard way that reporting the incident to a park ranger or police officer would have been a much better way to deal with the problem than digging holes.

Labels: crime, mountain biking, Tour of California, trails

Roger 0 comments links to this post 10:14 AM