Ron Wingerson’s mind blocks out the attack, but his body still feels the pain.

The 71-year-old Lake Tapps man has been hospitalized since Saturday, when three young adults leaned out of a moving car and beat Wingerson until he crashed his bike along a Puyallup road.

He suffered six broken ribs, a fractured pelvis and severe bruises and abrasions on his face and body.

“I wish they hadn’t done it,” Wingerson said Thursday from his bed at Tacoma General Hospital. “I don’t know what their reason is, but I don’t think it’s one I could justify. It’s sad somebody has to take it out on somebody else.”

Pierce County sheriff’s deputies are searching for a woman and two men who were inside the four-door sedan when it approached Wingerson from behind in the 12800 block of Pioneer Way East just before 3 p.m. Saturday.

Tacoma-Pierce County Crime Stoppers is offering up to $1,000 reward for information leading to the arrest and charges of the suspects.

”

It’s nice to see the authorities taking it seriously. I started my so-called “bike law” practice after growing frustrated with the lack of attention paid by the Tucson Police Department to assaults on cyclists. My first foray into bike law in fact was helping a friend get the police to cite a man who had first assaulted her friend (by throwing a drink at him) and then knocked her out of the way and drove over her bike when she tried to stop him. Despite many witnesses to this scene, the police simply ignored her until I showed up. We finally got the man cited, but alas, the police refused to show up at his trial and the prosecutor ended up cutting him a very sweet deal. It was quite depressing.

Things have gotten better in Tucson though, and I believe TPD has made impressive progress. I like to think they would react to an event like this just as the Pierce County authorities have done.

My thoughts go out to Mr. Wingerson and his family. I too have been knocked to the ground by thugs in a car (though thankfully I was not badly hurt) and I know how deeply psychologically scarring it can be to be attacked like that.

–Erik Ryberg

Three neighborhoods invaded by one car Wednesday night with a driver bent on mowing people down. Four bicyclists left sprawled on the pavement. Six minutes from start to finish, from first victim to last.

***

Investigators said the driver had carried out the assaults in a blue Nissan Rogue crossover sport utility vehicle. They said it was registered in Berkeley and was not believed to be stolen, but by late Thursday, there were still no arrests.

The victims, hit at four locations as their attacker wove wildly through traffic, sometimes down the wrong side of the road, were described as men ranging in age from their 20s to their 40s.

One victim was treated at the scene and released. The three at San Francisco General – one in critical condition, one in serious and one in fair – are expected to survive, said hospital spokeswoman Rachael Kagan.

***

The rampage began at 9:43 p.m. in the Mission District, on a quiet stretch of Harrison Street near 23rd Street where houses overlook strips of well-tended flowers and a bike path.

“I heard this big bang and ran outside, and there was a man on the street moaning and curled up in pain and his bicycle on the ground,” said Ramon Fernandez, 66. “There were many police who came in about a minute, and then all of us were standing around wondering how such a thing could happen here.”

***

Two minutes after the first hit-and-run, the driver mowed down his second bicyclist about a half-block south on Harrison, at a corner with a gourmet coffee shop and other neighborhood stores.

***

A couple of minutes later and about 1 mile east, the third victim was struck at 23rd and Pennsylvania streets – a windswept, industrial block practically beneath Interstate 280 that is dominated by stretches of dirt and a Muni bus yard.

***

The driver then sped several blocks north to the heart of Potrero Hill where, at the corner of 17th and Missouri, he hit his fourth rider at 9:49 p.m., police said. Immediately after the impact, the driver smashed his Rogue into a light pole and a parked Jeep Cherokee at the corner – and then he fled.

***

Police Lt. Lyn Tomioka said all the victims “do appear to be targeted. We don’t know if they were known victims, or if it’s because they were on bicycles or what the issue was.”

Update:A suspect has been arrested.

EBR

Police looking for driver who fatally struck bicyclist

by Ofelia Madrid – Aug. 8, 2009 07:58 PM
The Arizona Republic

Phoenix police are looking for a driver of a BMW sedan who struck and killed a bicyclist in north Phoenix around midnight Friday.

Police gave this account:

Shortly after midnight, a bicyclist was riding southbound on Cave Creek Road just north of Mountain Gate Pass Road in the marked bicycle lane when a silver BMW driving at a high rate of speed drove into the bike lane and struck the bicyclist, killing him instantly.

The cyclist, 52, was riding home from work and was in full compliance with the bicycle laws. He was riding with a bike light and a rear flashing light in the bike lane.

The BMW driver continued without stopping. Witnesses reported that the BMW was speeding and weaving just prior to the collision.

Witnesses describe the vehicle as a silver late-model BMW four-door with dark window tint and an Arizona license plate, police said.

There is extensive damage to the right front headlight section along with windshield damage on the passenger side.

The front right clearance marker lamp and fog lamp was found at the scene, police said.

There is no description of the driver, police said.

Anyone with information about the incident or driver is asked to call Phoenix police at 602-262-6141 or Silent Witness 480-948-6377.

Story here.

–EBR

A REQUEST:

Please look for a 2007 or 2008 silver Nissan Versa with the right side mirror significantly damaged and possibly scratches along the right side of the car. If you observe such a car do NOT approach the driver, please instead record the license number and report it to Gilbert Police at 480-503-6500 and reference Officer J. Halliday (Badge #2144) and the accident involving Carol Winstanley on 25 March 2009 on Guadalupe Road in Gilbert.

Carol Winstanley was hit from behind by a car while riding her bicycle eastbound on Guadalupe Road between Neely & Gilbert Roads. This accident occurred at approximately 7:15am on Wednesday, 25 March 2009. Carol received significant and severe injuries & was air evacuated to Scottsdale/Osborne Hospital due to significant potential head injuries (she was wearing a helmet). Witnesses to the accident only saw a silver sedan and were more concerned with Carol than the driver of the car who left the scene. Evidence left at the scene of the accident indicates that the car involved was a silver Nissan Versa 2007 or 2008. Please help us find this driver.

Carol sustained trauma to the head which resulted in bleeding into the brain cavity. After observation for 24 hrs, this bleeding stabilized sufficiently for surgery to occur. Thankfully, the only broken bone was a crack in the pelvis. Carol received 22 staples in her head and 25 staples in her left leg. Her condition has stabilized and she was released from the hospital after 3 days. She is recovering slowly at home & currently can walk briefly with the aid of a walker.

Please feel free to forward the above request to anyone in Metro Phoenix that would be willing to help.

Thank you for your observance & help.

Regards,

Dave Winstanley

Best wishes to all.

–Erik Ryberg