Hey, there! Log in / Register
DA: Bicyclist hits pedestrian, then cab driver hits bicyclist - on purpose, with his fists and his taxi
By adamg on Mon, 11/10/2014 - 9:17am
Updated with info from the arraignment.
A Brookline cab driver had bail set at $1,000 today on charges he wielded both his fists and his cab as weapons against a bicyclist who had just run into a pedestrian at Tremont and Avery streets Friday night, the Suffolk County District Attorney's office reports.
According to the DA's office, the incident with driver Sam Chandler, 45, began when a bicyclist ran a red light and plowed into a pedestrian as she was crossing the street.
He went to her aid, he said, and asked a nearby cab driver - later identified as Chandler - for help. Instead of assisting, however, Chandler allegedly became belligerent, exited his cab, and struck the cyclist with his fists. When witnesses separated the two men and the cyclist blocked his cab to call police, Chandler allegedly drove into him and fled southbound on Tremont Street.
Witnesses corroborated the cyclist’s account. He and the pedestrian he struck were transported to Massachusetts General Hospital. Both are expected to survive their injuries.
Police on patrol on Granite Avenue spotted Chandler's car and stopped him. He was charged with assault and battery, assault and battery with a dangerous weapon and leaving the scene of a collision causing injury.
The DA's office adds the bicyclist will not face criminal charges for running the light and hitting the pedestrian, because "violating a traffic law as a cyclist is a civil infraction under Ch. 85, Sect. 11E, of the Massachusetts General Laws."
Innocent, etc.
Neighborhoods:
Topics:
Free tagging:
Ad:
Support Universal Hub
Help keep Universal Hub going. If you like what we're up to and want to help out, please consider a (completely non-deductible) contribution.
Comments
Mad Lib
I'm not surprised. People who get around by [mode of transportation] are the worst. The other day, in fact, on [street], I saw a [mode of transportation] completely break the law about [something a law is about] and I was [synonym for 'disgusted'] by how bad these [mode of transportation]ers are in this city. The [state govt agency] should do something about this before [number] people are killed in a [mode of transportation] accident.
Happy Monday
And they're off...
Time to have a national
Time to have a national conversation on [blank] and ban [blank] for the children!
WON'T SOMEBODY PLEASE THINK OF THE CHILDREN!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qh2sWSVRrmo
I'm kinda bored...
I'm not surprised. People who get around by hay wagons pulled by trained turkeys are the worst. The other day, in fact, on Bird St., I saw a team of ill-trained and aggressive Narragansetts completely break the law about wearing appropriate protective headgear and I was sorta hungry,but pissed by how bad these turkey drivers are in this city. TheDivision of Animal Health Poultry Program (true thing)should do something about this before innocent millions of people are killed in a complete and utterly preventable clusterf*ck of feathers, beaks, hay, and associated accidents.
HAHA!
HAHA!
While our might is legendary
While our might is legendary and more than capable of pulling a mere hay cart, we can not be trained and will not be subjugated as beasts of burden!
But, Turkeys
Why do you cross the road then?
It is an act of defiance
It is an act of defiance against the unjust colonial infrastructure occupying our native lands!
I'm not surprised. People who
I'm not surprised. People who get around by [walking] are the worst. The other day, in fact, on [everywhere], I saw a [granny with a walker] completely break the law about [jaywalking while publicly intoxicated] and I was [made happy] by how bad these [walkers]ers are in this city. The [dept. of children and families] should do something about this before [millions of] people are killed in a [mass pedestrian collision] accident.
Here, ftfy.
So... this makes no sense.
So... this makes no sense. Why was the cab driver in an altercation with the cyclist? Did the pedestrian who was struck by the cyclist require medical treatment? At least the cyclist didn't take off after he hit the person walking.
More info to come ...
After the arraignment.
I blame Batman
Hollywood's glorification of vigilantism in the Batman movies has encouraged people to take it upon themselves to fight injustice where they perceive it to happen.
If only the City Council would meet the citizenry's outcry for the release of proper stenographic records, I'm sure this would all go away.
He probably used a slur against the cabbie
called him an Uber driver.
I have to assume that the cab
I have to assume that the cab driver didn't see him.
What really makes no sense is
What really makes no sense is that you can get two years in the can for punching another person's mug from a static position yet if you barrel into them at speed aboard a bicycle, it's a civil matter that the plaintiff will have to take up with the defendant.
Lesson learned. From now I'm carrying a bicycle with me instead of a fistful of washers stuffed inside a sock.
If you want to kill someone,
If you want to kill someone, just do it with a car. Sober and clean, stay on the scene. You probably won't even be charged.
Well
You can kill with a big truck and there will be no charges whatsoever.
You can run a red light and plow a pedestrian and, again, no charges.
Intent
The law follows your intent, not your fist. So if you intentionally punch someone, yes, that is assault and battery with a max of two and a half years in the clink. If you intentionally ride into someone on a bicycle or in a car, that's assault and battery with a dangerous weapon, with a max of 10 years in prison. If your action via fist, bike, or car is accidental and not intentional, there is no criminal penalty because the law in America places those in the civil, not criminal, courts.
No need to really think too hard about this, though. The discussion of cars and bikes is rarely informed by understanding or even awareness of the law.
Well
"The discussion of cars and bikes is rarely informed by understanding or even awareness of the law."
So, unfortunately, is the operation of same.
Riding through a red light is without intent?
Riding through a red light is without intent? That seems pretty intentional to me.
"If your action via fist,
"If your action via fist, bike, or car is accidental and not intentional, there is no criminal penalty because the law in America places those in the civil, not criminal, courts."
Too bad that police, DAs, and juries are more than happy to give every single driver the benefit of the doubt that "they didn't see them" and every time it's an "accident."
Think it Through
Why would a person drive into another person? There are two answers: A) it was intentional, or B) it was an accident. If A, then it will probably be charged as a crime when the cops learn that Driver X knew Pedestrian Y or there was bad blood between them. In fact, that happened in the very case you are commenting on. If B, then police, DA's, and juries are doing exactly what the law tells them to do when they don't charge or do acquit on an accident. If you actually think everyone in a car actually intends to hit every non-driver on the road, you are as paranoid and delusional as a Fox News viewer.
http://youtu.be/Emdzsz_XvfA
http://youtu.be/Emdzsz_XvfA
Tremont and Avery
is one nasty corner. And why the f are silverline buses above ground in this area? Even 125 years ago our Victorian era ancestors realized, well shit, this place is too congested, let's put these trains underground. Fast forward to the second decade of the 21st century and we haven't progressed, we've regressed.
The Silver Line was supposed
The Silver Line was supposed to be a real line like the green line, but the slew of Republican governors that were in power during the big dig (this was part of the mitigation) watered it down to a bus. There is even a tunnel that could have been used for the old orange line when it was elevated. Given Baker's (and republicans in general) lack of enthusiasm for public transit, it will probably never be upgraded to the promised "equal or better" than the old orange line light rail or the "one seat ride from Dudley to Logan."
That's not what happened. The
That's not what happened. The Fed was giving out money for BRT and the convention center authority desperately wanted the Piers transitway built in the Seaport District. As a result the Washington Street equal or better rail replacement project which was supposed to be a trolley got merged with the Piers Transitway project to grab as much Fed cash as possible. The disastrous phase 3 which would have wrecked an existing abandoned trolley tunnel to the tune of a BILLION dollars for a bus tunnel in the exact same alignment was wisely killed by Gov Patrick. The Silver Li(n)e debacle as a bus is a result of merging projects and ignoring light rail simply on the basis of a federal funding grab.
It didn't help that the MBTA GM at the time, Mulhern, was a former bus driver and HATED trolleys with a passion.
If the green line is your idea of a "real line"....
.......then...I"m glad the Silver isn't a "real line'. Cuz the green line sucks donkey dongs.
Republikkkans rarely give a
Republikkkans rarely give a crap about the little guy.
Avery Street is extra
Avery Street is extra confusing because it starts as a two way and then bottlenecks and becomes a one way at Washington Street.
Tremont and Avery
I've been complaining to Boston about the pedestrian light there - it takes 4-5 MINUTES to trigger, so you get traffic backing up from Tremont and Boyleston, but still no walk light.
The city has decided that pedestrians should wait for 4 minutes there, despite nonexistant traffic or traffic back up that could be avoided with a red light.
This means the city wants people to jaywalk because they begin to think the light is broken, and then they think they can frogger across and that's when they also ignore oncoming cyclists.
I've seen this happen several times - cyclist is coming through on the light, pedestrian tired of waiting for walk light that is moronically delayed starts to jaywalk and there is a near collision.
The CITY OF BOSTON NEEDS TO FIX THIS DAMN LIGHT!
Do we really need four lanes
Do we really need four lanes of traffic here? It's a high-speed freeway with no provisions for bicyclists and minimal provisions for pedestrians. It would be hard to find too much fault with the cyclist who was probably spending most of his time trying not to get run down by vehicles.
And if you converted the Silver Line to light rail, it could run in the tunnel directly below this street. Of course, we can't have nice things (street-level light rail).
Cycle Track Has Been Proposed
What would work really well would be a cycle track around the common, as it would get people from Charles St. downtown and people from Downtown to the Back Bay. It would solve a lot of problems, to say the least. They also need to take a lane of Charles St. and make a two-way cycle track to get people to and from the Longfellow Bridge and into either Downtown jobs or Back Bay jobs.
Well...
there is probably a good reason why their are four lanes on this road. I would venture forth to say that it is probably because to keep the car traffic moving.
Whether in a car or on a bike, one must keep an eye out for pedestrians. That means whether driving a car and riding a bike, one should take in consideration that you will be interacting with peds and to motor accordingly.
I would venture forth to say
And it works so well!
You were last in this area ...
When, exactly?
You seem to be utterly unaware of the fundamental problems here - those being the most basic failure to design a light cycle, roadway, and intersection in a manner involving conscious thought or quality engineering of any way, shape, or form.
You have the same foolish belief in lanes = capacity that Mark does. There isn't much traffic here to begin with, but the capacity is ultimately controlled by the capacity of the intersection at Boylston.
My first cycling accident in about thirty years happened there
On a Friday afternoon in June two years ago. I was riding down Tremont St on my way home from work, when avoiding a pedestrian walking across Tremont against their light, I went over the rear wheel of a cyclist that had done the same as the pedestrian (I had the green light, and luckily it was at a moment when I was the only traffic on Tremont Street, though I suppose if there were other types of traffic going my way, the jaywalker and other cyclist probably wouldn't have crossed against their light). I landed on the pavement my back and, other than having the wind knocked out of me and a bruise on my leg from where my handlebar landed on me, wasn't injured. I suppose I probably shouldn't have been going so fast there (probably a whopping 15-18 MPH -there is a nice gentle downhill there), but there would have been no accident had the pedestrian and other cyclist been paying attention when crossing.
I love cruising down Tremont
I love cruising down Tremont there at decent speeds but the amount of ped traffic is awful. There's also no shoulder to speak of when idling for the light so cars love to cram you in there.
Still not as bad as BU area for dumbass kids jaywalking. I had to stop hard twice this weekend and the last for kids crossing by that Subway inbound to Kenmore.
If anything that strech of Comm has made me feel no shame in screaming at just about everyone to stay the fuck on the sidewalk when I have the RoW and not stand in the bike lane. Hell, even DPW realized how stupid BU kids are and painted those "look left for cyclist" things on the pavement and kids still don't bother looking.
Light Design Creates Jaywalking here
I cross at this light almost daily, and the light cycle is extremely long given the number of pedestrians versus the number of vehicles.
Rather than wait forever, or running out of room on the curb, people dash across and they don't see cyclists in the shadows or don't look for them.
The city needs to make this light cycle much shorter. When there is traffic, it backs up from the next light anyway, with little behind it. Clearly a case of the city counting cars but not bothering to count pedestrians, or consider what happens when people wait too long and the intersection appears empty or is corked by vehicles.
Speaking of the same area, I
Speaking of the same area, I also wish cyclists could use the Common as my only other legal option is to go down Charles Street to head west, which is a death trap considering the speed of vehicles. Granted if you're smart it's nothing new but still stupid as hell the only option is to walk through the Common or head through the Theatre District.
Cyclists do use the Common,
Cyclists do use the Common, all the time.
Cyclists also run red lights
Cyclists also run red lights all the time, both aren't legal therefore I don't do them.
Is it still illegal?
I've seen numerous cyclists whiz right by rangers and cops alike, and there was no attempt to stop them.
The little symbols were pretty well worn off by the garbage trucks.
It also seemed to be a sudden policy implementation rather than an actual law.
Maybe various groups loudly demanding cycle tracks in useless pavement in the area made the city back off? I'd actually prefer it if the City stirred things up again if that is the case. There are currently no reasonable ways to get back to the Longfellow from downtown, and only circuitous or hellarific ones to get into downtown.
I know they recently made
I know they recently made note in the Public Garden and may have repainted the notice and am pretty sure the Common as well had at least one mention that had me discouraged.
I think people were complaining of kids flying down the hill by the State House on bikes which prompted note.
Wish there was something published somewhere to confirm for good.
Garden has always been "no bikes"
Although the stairs help with that ...
I've had drivers scream at me to "go ride in there" when on Beacon to Park, but it doesn't make sense in terms of where I'm headed, anyway.
...and scene
It's Boston Common ---- no 's'
But I didn't... and never
But I didn't... and never have spelled it the wrong way?
It is, though
It doesn't seem to get enforced too much. It'd be nice if there were accommodations made on the wider paths for biking, even with some additional reminders re speed and pedestrians, since yes--otherwise biking around that area is hellaciously complicated. I only have three speeds and getting up Beacon Street is a PITA.
It is since when? And where
It is since when? And where exactly does it say this? The Public Garden, yes, but where are the "no bikes" signs on the Common?
On some fairly faded stencils.
http://www.universalhub.com/2013/hey-bicyclists-youre-supposed-stay-out-...
Motorized vehicles also not allowed
Its a park, not a transportation route. Smoking isn't allowed either, BTW, Cops try to enforce that one, however.
Kidding, right?
Cops drive through the Common on a not-infrequent basis.
(and bike cops are THE WORST wrong-way-riding, sidewalk-riding dufuses out there)
Boston cops are not the worst
when it comes to driving through the Common. That honor goes to Parks and Recreation, with their oversized pickups and trash trucks.
Cyclists use the Common, but should act like guests
because the place properly belongs to the pedestrians. It's not a good place to speed through at 15 mph.
you mean like how pedestrians act on our bike paths?
...because last I checked, every single "bike" path has become a "pedestrian" path where pedestrians clog it up with themselves, dogs, strollers, children, etc. Then they bitch and moan about "those damn bikers" "on the path." They certainly don't act like guests.
You want me off Boston Common?
Get off the Southwest Corridor BIKE path and onto the Southwest Corridor ped path that's RIGHT NEXT TO IT. You know, the one marked with little signs with arrows pointing one way for bikes, another way for peds?
Get out of my bike lanes instead of jogging in them (and parking in them every time you get in your car.)
Get off my Minuteman Bike Path.
Get off my Paul Dudley White Bike Path.
Also, 15mph is "speeding"? My new nickname for you is LOLRONHUBBARD
You're quite correct about
You're quite correct about how "bike" paths have been taken over by pedestrians, strollers, dog-walkers, etc., and "bike" lanes have been taken over by double-parkers and delivery vehicles, to the point where they are useless for cyclists. You are also correct that those who get all sanctimonious about the presence of bicycles in pedestrian areas, are willfully blind to that fact.
However - and I say this as a cyclist - bikes and pedestrians really DON'T mix. And yes, 15 mph IS speeding, when you think of the damage that can be done to a pedestrian AND to you if you happen to hit someone going that speed. So, things being as they are, you have a decision to make: whether to claim your rights by riding wherever you're allowed to do so, or seek an alternate route. As counterintuitive as it seems to non-cyclists, I'd rather mix it up with the cars than deal with the peds. Is it fair? Hell, no. But you've heard the anti-bike whiners snivel endlessly on here about bicycle scofflaws going unpunished, and you've seen many more drivers violate the laws and go unpunished -- what are the odds that anyone's ever going to chase the pedestrians off the bike paths? It'll never happen.
Bikes are not permitted on
Bikes are not permitted on the Common. My lovely wife watched a BPD cruiser "pull over" a biker by the Parkman bandstand yesterday, got a stern talking to.
I ride my bike through the Common but it does not affect the law.
"Cearly a case of the city counting cars..."
you are correct and there is probably a good reason.
On another note, how about the cyclists also keeping an eye out for the people who, as you say, may dash across the road? If we keep an eye out for each other, oh what a happy and joyous place it could be!
What would that reason be?
Especially when there is no reason for the signal to be so long in terms of traffic?
Especially when pedestrians outnumber vehicles? It should be about getting people through the area, not having people wait for long periods when there is either no traffic or traffic that should be held back from the intersection.
And, yes, people do have to look out, but the configuration and failure to do the barest quality control at this particular intersection (a major crossing point from the Common) makes it both difficult to look out and difficult to avoid people who get tired of waiting for an idiopathically long cycle.
Wrapping yourself in a car does not make you more important - it only makes you dry and comfy while you listen to your own music.
Very wide street = long crosswalks
Does anyone think it's strange that Tremont is 4 lanes wide in this stretch? I think it's a prime location for a "lane diet" to calm traffic and reduce the crosswalk lengths.
It is 4 lanes because it used
It is 4 lanes because it used to be two way.
Put some trees down the
Put some trees down the middle and eliminate the extra lanes. Win win for everyone.
There are always vehicles
There are always vehicles double parked along this stretch, too. It's pretty hazardous for everyone.
Uber getting under cabbies skin
Or perhaps the cabbie didn't want to disconnect his endless phone call to call 911.
Why are people walking and driving?
It's reprehensible that turkey's are encouraged to ride bicycles.
M. Night treatment
The cab driver...was the pedestrian!
He was hit walking back to his cab!
Post updated after arraignment
Bicyclist ran a red light but won't face charges because that's only a civil offense for bicyclists.
Hit and run also civil for bicyclist, even if fatal
If the cyclist took off after running the red light and injuring a pedestrian, he could get a $20 ticket for hit and run. He wouldn't have to pay it if ever caught because there is no penalty for not doing so, as with other bicycle infractions.
When pedestrians kill pedestrians its almost always from a head injury when the victim's head hits the pavement. It doesn't take a big vehicle to do that, so all the statements to the contrary are worthless. Someone merely has to be knocked over to potentially die from a head injury.
With no enforcement, its no wonder cyclists run red lights etc. often.
Like car drivers
Like car drivers see any enforcement for blasting through reds (happens all the time downtown) or penalties for killing with vehicles.
No penalties for jaywalking, either, even when that injures a cyclist.
Meanwhile, you have so far only come up with two incidents in several years where a bike/ped collision resulted in a fatality. Seems like car/ped fatalities happen regularly everywhere - about 10,000 a year nationally.
This is a Masshole problem, top to bottom. It won't change until we see cops that know the laws enforcing them on all modes (not special task forces - all the time), a registry which requires drivers to actually demonstrate comprehensive understanding of the road rules (including yield signs) and retests at least each decade, and powerful penalties for impaired operation (be that from alcohol, drugs, or physiologic impairment). Better licensing and enforcement on licenses - which the vast majority of cyclists have - means better understanding all around.
Just because you pass an exam
showing you know how to drive a car doesn't mean you automatically know how to ride a bike. And please stop comparing cyclist to cars.
For every car that runs a red light in the city, you probably have 100 cyclist do the same.
Data
Please provide the data.
Meanwhile, over 100 pedestrians have been hit and killed by motor vehicles in NYC this year, while only two were hit and killed when colliding with cyclists.
I think there is something to be said for lethality.
Asshole cyclist Lucus Brunelle is the story here!
Google the cyclist, Lucas Brunelle and watch on YouTube of all the irresponsible riding he does. He was long overdue for an attitude adjustment and take down. Total A-hole in his videos. Shouldn't even be allowed on public roads, just closed race courses.
Masshole doesn't even begin to describe Lucas Brunelle. Videos recorded, produced, and promoted by him of alleycat racing and the like on public streets glamorize dangerous and irresponsible cycling. He earned everything the cab driver allegedly did to him and much more. He should have been going to the hospital instead of the pedestrian he hit and suffered a head injury.
In this instance, a bicycle gang was racing ("group ride") and ignored the red light. Clearly at fault for the collision. It wasn't an accident because the cyclist, Lucas Brunelle, like most, didn't stop for the red light or the pedestrian in the crosswalk.
The cabbie needs to make a fundme (etc.) page for helping to enforce traffic rules that police and the Legislature won't, resulting in this pedestrian who suffered a dangerous head injury! Poor guy got fired for punching asshole cyclist, Lucas J. Brunelle, full of attitude after having run down someone. Good for the cabbie helping educate him on what that is like and to not run lights any more. Based on all the asshole behavior in Brunelle's videos, the cabbie performed a great public service and should be rewarded.
BTW, I am not going to cite every instance of cyclists killing pedestrians - there are far more than just the two in NYC's Central Park this year. Just do some google searches and find the serious ones. Many, however never make the news as pedestrian vs. cyclist collisions are not reported in the huge majority of cases.
Why doesn't the asshole cyclist, Lucas J. Brunelle, who ran the red light and hit the pedestrian in a crosswalk, post that video on You Tube for us when he is not too busy commenting to the press without admitting his own responsibility? Sadly, the attitude adjustment attempted by the cabbie seems to have failed on Lucas J. Brunelle.
Lucas Brunelle?
Where did you get the information that Lucas Brunelle was the cyclist in this incident?
I'm especially curious because I saw Lucas two days later, at Aeronaut Brewery in Somerville, where he was presenting a couple of films and answering questions at intermission. He did not mention this incident.
I dunno, but Mark Kaepplein
I dunno, but Mark Kaepplein of Arlington sure seems to have it in for this Lucas guy. An armchair psychologist might even be tempted to speculate that Mark Kaepplein's is projecting his longstanding and well-documented hatred of bicyclists onto this Lucas fellow, whether or not he actually had anything to do with the incident in question. I would certainly hope that Mark Kaepplein of Arlington has his facts straight and isn't casting aspersions on an innocent man.
Brunelle poster child for asshole bicyclists
The media whore has been featured in WCVB video on the Chronicle show as part of his endless promotion of irresponsible bicycling. How can bicyclists not all condemn the way he rides? It was just a matter of time before he hurt someone (again?) by his behavior.
Yeah, so
He hasn't killed or maimed nearly as many people as the serial drunk drivers that we keep hearing about - you know, the ones who get a few months in jail despite multiple convictions?
You do understand that many of those stunts are exactly that - stunts. But, hey, maybe you believed that KnightRider was for real.
So... you're saying that if
So... you're saying that if Brunelle wasn't riding a bike he'd be a drunk driver? The post is about a cyclist who hit a pedestrian and then got punched by a cabbie. Was the cabbie driving drunk? If so, it hasn't been reported. Stick to the story and stop fantasizing.
Anonymous logic
I think she's saying that he's a dog that drank red bull, got wings, then flaunted the FAA.
Makes as much sense as what you are saying here.
I suppose bicycles are welded with demonic bodily fluids, and drunk drivers animate them a the crossroads, too.
Most Everywhere but here
Lucas Brunelle had plenty to say in front of local news cameras today. He just didn't want to distract from selling his videos when you saw him. Dilutes his message.
http://www.myfoxboston.com/clip/10833376/bicyclist-claims-cab-driver-tri...
http://www.whdh.com/story/27347239/cab-driver-accused-of-attacking-bike-...
http://boston.cbslocal.com/2014/11/10/taxi-driver-accused-of-beating-bic...
http://www.whdh.com/story/27347239/cab-driver-accused-of-attacking-bike-...
https://www.bostonherald.com/news_opinion/local_coverage/2014/11/boston_...
http://www.bostonglobe.com/metro/2014/11/10/taxi-driver-faces-charges-fo...
http://www.bostonherald.com/news_opinion/local_coverage/2014/11/biker_bl...
Video showed NECN's microphone while Brunelle was speaking, but I could not find it on their site.
BTW, the cab driver was working for a Brookline cab company, so faced getting penalized and fired for picking up a Boston passenger.
Ron, was Lucas Brunelle bruised Sunday?
When you saw him? If not, perhaps he had a bike accident or somebody punched him for dramatic effect in court. Theatrical makeup?
I wasn't sitting close enough to Lucas to see
but someone else in the audience asked him why he had a black eye. He said it wasn't from a bike accident. I wasn't paying quite enough attention to remember what else he may have said.
What in Dog's Name ...
... are you going on about here? What the hell does any of this have to do with Brunelle???? Or are you just more ravingly and frothingly insane than usual?
And please do cite ALL the incidents of cyclists killing pedestrians - all two or three of them in the US this year! I dare you to find any more than that - and none of this "its just unreported I just know" bullshit, either. If anything, it becomes a major headline BECAUSE IT IS SO GODDAMN RARE.
Also, your little work of lurid fanfiction seems to be exceptionally in denial of this important piece of information:
Loathe as I am to agree with MarKKK
He's right on this one. Brunelle is a douche who makes videos of himself and others flaunting their irresponsible and reckless bike antics. I mean look at this quote from a friend of this idiot regarding Brunelle's single achievement in cinematography:
Fuck him.He got what he deserved.
It sounds like he's a royal
It sounds like he's a royal douche, but compared to Masshole drivers, he's still a piker. He's not even as big a douche as the cabbie who tried to run him down instead of staying to help the pedestrian as Brunelle asked. Call me when he runs down a Vietnamese immigrant in cold blood.
Brookline cabs can't pick up Boston fares
We don't have the whole story, but Brunelle probably wanted the cab to act like an ambulance for him so he could go back to terrorizing the streets (after dark). The cab driver who witnessed what Brunelle did along with how this group rode on previous blocks, could have been outraged by it and tried to prevent him from fleeing.
Tried to "prevent him from
Tried to "prevent him from fleeing" by running him down like a dog, you mean? I know this is hard for you, but let's stick to reality: Brunelle was attempting to help the injured woman. Chandler was the one who was attempting to flee.
I think you mean "flout" in
I think you mean "flout" in that little rant.
Actually, no
He's flouting the law. He's flaunting his antics.
The Dbag in his own words
Brunelle shows his inflated ego riding a children's toy in his own words starting at 11 minutes, 0 seconds while video displays complete disrespect for everyone else on the road.
After watching Brunelle's group ride style, its clear Brunelle is the one who should have been arrested for assault and battery with a dangerous weapon and reckless endangerment after sending the pedestrian to the hospital.
"Children's toy?" Really,
"Children's toy?" Really, Mark?
Welcome to Mark's world. Hope
Welcome to Mark's world. Hope you brought dramamine.
Yep
In this bizzaromark world, motorists never kill anyone, but cyclists murder millions and it all goes unreported.
Also, laws are for cyclists, and we should make up extra ones because cyclists are evil, but there's always a good reason a truck driver killed someone, or a drunk should be let free, or an impaired elder should continue driving after killing, even if the person they killed or maimed was just waiting for the walk light on the curb or on a sidewalk at a school.
Must have been
watching those Top Gear bike safety PSAs again.
a bicycle gang was racing
Well for Pete's sake, lock up the womenfolk. Can't be having that.
You really need to take a deep breath and get a sense of perspective. You're gonna shorten your lifespan the way you ceaselessly churn your guts.
You really need to take a
That'll definitely happen.
If the cyclist took off after
And if your mother had wheels instead of legs, she'd be a bicycle, and that would be kind of awesome (and might make your head explode). But he didn't, and she doesn't. So why bring it up?
Example of how bad Mass Laws are
Its a criminal charge with much higher fines for hit and run with a motor vehicle. Mass Bike wrote the law changes in 2009 and Deval Patrick signed the bad legislation. This typifies how bad laws wrt bicyclists make roads less safe, especially for pedestrians like the one injured by a reckless fool who ran her down in a crosswalk, running a red light. Cops didn't even give him a ticket for that, it seems.
Yeah. So.
Irrelevant here - the guy was attacked when he didn't leave the scene.
Your mother is a bicycle
Markk02474's mother is a bicycle.
You sure?
I'm thinking something more like this:
clearly time to occupy the intersection...
..sit down strike!! who's with me? hello? hello?
No excuse but cabbie could have been angered by patron
He can't pick up in boston, patron doesn't realize it and when turned down gets very upset theory
Yeah, or maybe he had agita.
Yeah, or maybe he had agita. Or maybe he was concerned about the midterm elections.
But before we get too far off into the ether, let's keep focused on the facts:
Brunelle broke the law, unintentionally hit a woman with his bike, and stopped to help.
Chandler refused to help the injured woman, intentionally rammed Brunelle with his cab and tried to drive off.
So who's the bigger douchebag?
I'm still waiting to hear
the other side of this story. Whenever you read something like "he just started punching me out of NOWHERE for NO REASON!!" your radar goes up, a little, right? Why on earth would the cabbie get out and just start swinging?
That's where the witnesses come in
Go back to Adam's original story - direct statement from the District Attorney:
Having encountered cabbie road rage over "blocking the lane" because I was riding slowly down the middle of an open lane - said lane being a well-marked BIKE LANE ... well, I'd be willing to believe that the cabbie was yet another of the insane cabbies we seem to have too many of around here.
Yes, I read it.
So I'm inclined to believe that's how it happened, but I just want to hear what the cabbie has to say.
You should visit Boston
You should visit Boston sometime, cabbies here are looking to get into it and something as small as blocking the lane as the cyclist was doing after the accident is more than enough to set these lunatics off. Thats the reason I never take cabs anymore, only uber or lyft.
Point is...
Many people will say the same about cyclists (see the very funny, spot-on first comment on this thread.) I'm no more willing to say "all cabbies are homicidal a-holes" than I am to hear "all bikers suck and they never stop at red lights and they almost killed my Aunt Zelda while she was trying to cross Arlington St."
I see your point but I don't
I see your point but I don't think anyone is really disputing the basic facts of the incident. The cyclist was being a royal douche and ran a red light, running into a pedestrian. It doesn't take much to imagine that that would have set the cabbie off, or maybe Brunelle got in his face when the cabbie refused to take the victim to the hospital. Maybe he swore at him, maybe he assaulted him. None of these things are outside the realm of possibility given this guy's apparent sense of self-importance. But also, none of them change the apparently-undisputed facts that Brunelle was trying to get the cabbie to take the woman to the hospital and Chandler struck him with his fists and cab and tried to leave the scene.
Again--totally true.
It definitely seems pretty clear-cut at this point--I'm just surprised that we haven't heard anything on why the guy snapped.
Let me guess
You have very little interaction with cab drivers - either on the street as a pedestrian, cyclist, or motorist or as a client.
They are a very marginal and fairly distressed community, working a job made horrifically stressful by an out-of-control system of medallion owners who operate above the law. Also, the nature of the work would dovetail nicely with various sorts of drug habits - particularly if they can extort cash from customers.
My org had so many problems with travelers, insane and violent cabbies demanding cash, and erratic driving by cabs that we have gone uber only.
Not all drivers drive erratically, or act insane, or become violent at the merest suggestion that they are taking the extra long way around or the credit card reader really must be working. Enough of them are insane, violent, and impaired that it has come to this for my workplace as well as my husband's and many others. It is just that bad.
Cabbies
Y'know, Swirly, if someone else was stereotyping another group of people the way you're doing for cabbies, you'd be tearing them a new one right now. And yes, I've taken plenty of Boston cabs and I know how many assholes there are behind the wheel. I'm just saying. There's no reason to bite Sally's head off for pointing out that we haven't heard one party's account of the incident.
When your workplace warns people away
That is pretty bad, no?
This was after about ten incidents in a month.
Scientific organizations work on data. The data indicated an unacceptable trend. Alternatives were assessed and employed.
And I did say "not all are nuts". Enough are nuts, and there are no avenues to correct the situation, that many companies won't use cabs anymore.
ALSO, did you also fail to read the DAs account - WITNESSES.
If I'm not mistaken, science
If I'm not mistaken, science tells us that statistical trends among a large group tell us nothing specific about how one group member acted in one particular instance.
Witnesses?
There are all sorts. I suspect most only started paying attention to the scene when the cab driver was allegedly punching Brunelle and then saw him try to leave while Brunelle climbed on the hood of his cab trying to stop him from departing. Fewer witnesses willing to talk (possibly the friend of the woman hurt) saw the whole thing, but then the friend was paying more attention to her injured friend than the building confrontation. There won't be a consistent story from witnesses and its piecemeal, with holes. The part of the story missing is what Brunelle did to elicit such a physical response from the cab driver. Just telling him F you? Seems like there must have been more to it because F you is probably a daily exchange for anyone spending his day driving or bicycling the streets in Boston.
When the French Government Warns People Away
We roll our eyes at what out-of-towners say about Dorchester as a a gigantic gladiator cage of gang shootouts.
Consistency is the hobgoblin of little minds, no?
Now why would you say that?
I bike in the city daily. I don't own a car and for years I relied on cabs for work as the only means of transportation. I've had thousands of interactions with cab drivers, as passenger, pedestrian, and cyclist and have known several personally. It is an underpaid, stressful job--often a second one--for a lot of hardworking immigrants. I have all sorts of crazy cab stories but also many, many good ones and I don't buy into this kind of broad stereotyping for a minute, any more than I do when posters on here claim that every biker in Boston is a lawless, maniacal d-bag.
I'm sure this case will be decided on the witness accounts but the "all cabbies are crazy" case is pointless here, unless you want to admit the counter-supposition that "all cyclists are crazy" which in Brunelle's case would appear to be true.