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

I hope the cyclist has a swift recovery. He sounds to be very badly hurt.

More

And the good Samaritans speak:

–Erik Ryberg

This story is awful in every way. (Link to story on Drunkcyclist, not always completely SFW). See more about the memorial ride here, including lots of photos.

–EBR

Cyclist hit in OV
8:45 a.m. fri.
Happened at Calle Buena Vista south of Calle Concordia. An 85 year old woman hit two bicyclists who were in the bike lane. She did not stop. A witness got her plate number and OV police found her later. She told them she didn’t know she hit anyone. There was passenger side damage on her white SUV. She was not cited, but the case will be turned over to the County Attorney’s office to look at.

Bicyclist #1 68 years old, broken femur and hip
Bicyclist #2 62 year old, broken arm
Mindy Blake

A broken femur at 68 years old is no picnic. Send your best wishes their way!

And help me get some of these laws changed. If this woman hit these cyclists due to inattentiveness (and since she didn’t even know she hit them that seems pretty likely) this woman should not drive again.

Bike lanes should afford some protection to cyclists, just as crosswalks afford some protection to pedestrians. I do not understand why motorists who hit cyclists inside bike lanes are permitted to continue driving without so much as a requirement to attend a safety class. In the name of Allen Johnson, Drake Okusako, Jerome Featherman, and all the other riders who have been hit by inattentive or incompetent drivers, it needs to change.

Update: Here’s the link to the story on KOLD.

–Erik Ryberg

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

The sentencing for the Mr. Wilson was this morning and I attended. Tucson’s TV channel 13 crew was also there so it will be on today’s news. Bottom line: no jail time, 3 years of probation, he never drives again and he is to remain in an assisted living center in Georgia.

The whole thing had nothing to do with the accident that the driver caused but the fact that he left the scene of the accident. The judge felt that since the driver did contact an attorney (2 freakin’ days AFTER the accident!!!) he complied with the law’s intent that a driver accept responsibility. Never mind the fact that he went home and removed human tissue and bike paint from his car to try to cover up the accident. Whatever. They did mention that a civil suit is going on, that the driver has a $3 million insurance policy, yada yada yada. But the victim with the most serious injuries, the one who was in a coma for 3 months, the one who had multiple brain surgeries, the one who was declared mentally incompetent by the court and now has his wife as his legal guardian because of his brain injury, the one who already has $1.5 million in medical bills hanging over his head…..he had to sit there and watch the driver get off with a slap on the wrist. I was actually crying there in court, the whole thing was so sad. I should also mention that one of the other bicyclists who was injured that day gave an extremely emotional plea to the judge, asking for no leniency in the case. That had to have been so difficult to do, and my hat goes off to him.

I just have a very empty feeling in my stomach now. Damn, damn, damn

–Peter

Update: The Arizona Daily Star’s article on the sentencing is here (but I think Peter’s report is much better).

Second update: more thorough AZ Daily Star article here.

EBR

The Superior Courthouse is the big one on the southwest corner of Congress and Church street right in downtown Tucson.

You can read more about Gary Stuebe, the El Tour rider who was critically injured by William Wilson, here. Gary is still recovering from his injuries, and has a very long rehabilitation ahead of him.

–Erik Ryberg

Teen driver in fatal Tucson bike wreck faces additional charges
By Kim Smith
Arizona Daily Star
Tucson, Arizona | Published: 06.09.2009

A 19-year-old Tucson man is now facing additional charges in connection with last month’s death of a 55-year-old bicyclist.

Last month, Jesse James Segebartt was arrested on suspicion of leaving the scene of an injury accident after colliding with Drake G. Okusako near East Broadway and Alvernon Way. However, a Pima County grand jury indicted Segebartt on manslaughter and leaving the scene after causing a fatal crash charges on Monday.

Segebartt remains in the Pima County jail on $100,000 bond.

I am thankful that the County Attorney’s Office has taken an interest in giving this fellow more than a slap on the wrist.

–Erik Ryberg

AZ Daily Star Article here.

–Erik Ryberg

Last night somebody attempted to break into a car parked down the street a ways from my office. They didn’t succeed.

Right now there are four police officers swabbing it down for prints and investigating it. They’ve been there for awhile and it looks like they will be there for quite some time.

They weren’t happy about me taking pictures.

Anyway, it all makes me wonder. If they can afford most of an afternoon for four officers to swab down a car and investigate a failed break-in, why can’t they do more than make one single phone call for a bicyclist victim of a hit and run?

And regular readers of this blog know better than to get me started about assailants with baseball bats.

–Erik Ryberg