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Dirt bikers, ATV riders sought for violent attack on 80-year-old driver that started on Park Drive in Fenway, ended on Cambridge Street in Allston
By adamg on Tue, 11/23/2021 - 9:36pm
Surveillance photo via State Police.
State Police report they are hunting roughly 40 people on dirt bikes and ATVs they say began attacking an 82-year-old Brookline man near the Bowker Overpass, then kept following him as he tried to escape onto Storrow Drive and then beat him when he rolled down his window on Cambridge Street in Allston to yell for help this past Thursday night.
State Police say the man remains hospitalized with serious injuries but is expected to recover, State Police say.
State Police provided this account:
At approximately 7:30 p.m. on November 18, the victim was driving his 1996 Buick Century from Park Drive to Boylston Street, approaching the Bowker Overpass, when he observed 30 to 40 off-road motorcycles and ATVs approaching him. The bike and ATV riders forced the victim onto the curb on the right-hand side of the road and several of them began smashing the windows of the victim’s car.
The victim then was able to drive away and took the Bowker Overpass to Storrow Drive westbound with the intention of driving to a police station to get help. Several of the dirt bike and ATV operators followed him, however, and began kicking and striking the victim’s vehicle again. The victim attempted to drive evasively to get away from the suspects as he continued onto Soldiers Field Road.
The victim attempted to take the Cambridge Street off-ramp by the DoubleTree hotel in Allston but got stuck in traffic at the top of the ramp. He put his window down to ask occupants of another car to call 911. While the victim’s car window was down, one of the riders, a male, approached him on foot and began punching the victim through the open window. At the same time, other riders continued to kick the victim’s car. One of the suspects threw a piece of pipe through the car’s rear window; another threw a large rock through one of the car windows.
Eventually traffic being to flow, and the victim was able to make a left turn onto Cambridge Street in Allston. He was able to drive to Joe’s Kwik Market, where he got out of his car and fell to the ground. Boston EMS responded and transported him to St. Elizabeth’s Medical Center.
State Police ask that anyone with information - or with video - contact either 911 or State Police detectives at 617-727-8817.
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Comments
Last year an idiot on a dirt
Last year an idiot on a dirt bike drove into a fence trying to drive into Franklin Park, dying in a humiliating fashion. So maybe we need more fences. Or barricades of any sort. So pedestrianize more streets and properly barricade them so criminals on dirt bikes and terrorists in SUVs like the one in Wisconsin this week may be slowed down(or even better).
Where are the Boston Police??
Where are the Boston Police??? , tonight I saw a pack of loud mopeds , ATV’s and Non street legal Dirt bike’s riding down Meridian Street in East Boston riding right pass a Boston Police station around 5:30 PM
they already stated
a long time ago that they will not engage these kids in pursuit, because they'll do more damage trying to get away.
They get no support.
Go visit Dorchester or Roxbury district court when these guys are brought up on charges. See what happens to them. The auto theft unit works hard, but if the political and judicial will isn’t there to eradicate this problem, this is what we can expect to keep seeing.
New bedford police give chase
But the Boston Police intentionally don't. I wish they'd start.
No you don’t. If BPD chased
No you don’t. If BPD chased and one of these kids/stunted adults died during said chase after an accident, the city would burn.
This city does not support its police, so why should they bother trying to do much of.. well, anything?
Where?
I would guess they are trying to not piss off our wonderful leaders by not "over policing" the community. Can't say I blame them.
It's a thought, but
Barricades are probably not the answer. Dirt bikes can go pretty much anywhere a pedestrian can.
I thought you were going….
… to say barricades intended to kill are not the answer.
LOL
That you think pedestrianizing more streets or putting up barricades will keep dirt bike riders out -- especially in light of the death you cite of one trying to ride into a park! We can't completely block off streets because we still need occasional access for emergency vehicles, construction equipment, deliveries, the disabled, etc.
I guess the elderly man left
I guess the elderly man left out the part about how he tried to run them over in his statement. No reason for them to go that much out of their way to beat up an old man.
Where was that reported?
Where was that reported?
He probably tried to go with the light, which is very different.
If he was trying to run someone over, I feel like he had the chance from Park drive all the way to soldiers field, yet I see no mention of injured ATV/mopeders. It sounds like for most of the ride, he was (correctly) scared to stop, tried to get away and didn’t have a cell phone handy.
It is unfortunate you chose to side with a mob of clearly violent thugs who terrorized and attacked a guy.
Source?
Source?
Bullshit.
There are three possibilities
1. The car driver intentionally drove in an aggressive manner toward the bikers,
2. The car driver unintentionally drove in an aggressive manner toward the bikers, or
3. The car driver didn't drive in an aggressive manner toward the bikers.
You claim (1). Whether (1) [he swerved at a cyclist intentionally, or worse] or even (2) [although unintentional, the bikers perceived his actions as option (1)], following him, hitting his vehicle with their feet, a pipe, or a rock, and punching the man is wrong, stupid, illegal, and worthy of jail time.
No doubt that at least one of the bikers could have taken a photo of his license plate, and then used the same phone to call 911 and report the dangerous driver if the car driver was, in fact, behaving in a manner of (1) or (2).
Where did you learn this?
Did you find a different account, or were you one of the bikers?
These guys are scum, but they
These guys are scum, but they don’t attack people unless they’re provoked
Yes, I've never heard of dirt bikers attacking people
https://www.providencejournal.com/story/news/politics/2021/08/04/provide...
Old post
This is a link to an old article
dup post
nfm
Elderly Man
So you believe that the people running amuck (viewing the video provided) had reason to beat an 80 year old man? Are you kidding?
Julia?
Julia, that you?
Victim blaming
Nice. Ya these kids (punks) we’re just out for a lawful ride on unregistered dirt bikes.
Not per video surveillance
Not per video surveillance evidence! Woops, your bad.
Or just honked at them
or flinched, and another biker thought he was being aggressive...
...we don't actually know.
“just honked” ?
There is a reason why it’s illegal to blast your horn in most cities unless heading uncontrollably into a collision. One big reason is because it IS aggressive behavior.
That certainly justifies
That certainly justifies putting him in the hospital. Well-played.
If you think so.
But that’s YOUR opinion.
Yes, that is the language I used
and I say that as someone who gets around primarily by bike, and therefore experiences honks full-force and without the benefit of the shielding of glass and metal.
Honking absolutely can be an aggressive behavior, and I experience that all the time. But it can also be a "whoa, watch it!" which is what I intended there.
Yes, the predictable chorus
Yes, the predictable chorus of dirt bike apologists.
I remember on some threads this summer, there were the folks who were going to pains to declare (and dare I say, performatively so) that they really just didn't mind one little bit that these fun-loving folks were escapading about the streets of our fair city.
You dirt bike apologists are a more odious sort surely, but you remind me of the predictable chorus of folks who always take pains to point out that Boston's degenerate driving culture should be laid entirely at the feet of bad street design. Yes, of course street design matters. Just like the driver's behavior in this instance matters, too. But the driver's behavior doesn't matter as much as the dirt bikers' behavior.
The story here is about what the dirt bikers did. Full stop.
If you somehow believe that
If you somehow believe that an 82 year old man, or a teenager for that matter, can safely negotiate their vehicle around 30 to 40 bikers at close quarters and then, that in failing to do so they should subsequently have the crap kicked out of them, well the best thing I can say is that you must be way too young to know better. And I had to work really hard to come up with something that nice.
These moto idiots
This is the second elderly person the bike gang has attacked. Those guys are soft bunch of midlife crisis riders tryna be young.
Let's wait for the Suffolk DA
Let's wait for the Suffolk DA office to tell both sides of the story.
Edit: wrote this before realizing they've already commented above.
I think there are probably…
…. several sides to this story. I’d rather hear each from those who were there.
I'm sure the dirt bikers are just waiting
for the state police barracks to open, so they can explain why they drove their unregistered, uninsured vehicles 3 miles to put an 82 year old man in the hospital. They were so terrified they put a pipe through his rear windshield and a rock through the front to insure their safety.
Yes, because the State Police …
… are the first place a dirt biker or any kind of biker would go for protection and fair treatment.
Speaking from experience and with sarcasm.
And that matter
A dirt bike rider in Boston is about the last person I'd trust when they speak of other people acting recklessly and to endanger on public roadways.
Vigilante justice is never acceptable irrespective of who is behind the wheel or throwing the punches.
Non sequitor.
Maybe you meant to reply to a different comment.
These dirt bikes and ATV’s
These dirt bikes and ATV’s have no headlight, no tail light , and no license plate’s , therefore it has always been illegal to ride one in the street, I saw these Animals weaving in and out of the double yellow line on a Main Street having no regard for on coming cars.
Someone out there is funding these Animals to buy these expensive off road bikes.
Yeah
This seems like a perfectly appropriate response to anything an 80-year-old man might have been doing in his car. I'm sure the bikers were completely justified and that everything they did was legal, and that they even managed to get licenses for the bikes, even though that's impossible. We all know how well-behaved and civic-minded these bikers are. They were just trying to do us all a favor as they roam around the city doing good deeds and protecting us from all the 80-year-old hot-rodders who play chicken.
Dismissed from the jury.
.
Minor (?) point
If you substitute "an 80 year old man" with "a person", I agree. At the point where someone is behind the wheel of a car, their age, and to a large degree their physical condition, becomes a lot less relevant as far as assessing the potential threat that they pose.
So why...
does an 82 year old man with no apparent criminal history all of a sudden decide to try to run over people?
BPD need to start using DNA spray
They've been using it in the UK for several years. It allows the cops to spray at riders which will get an invisible spray with unique identifiers on the rider, bike and their gear which can be used to later tie them to specific incidents and press charges without resorting to chases which increase the danger to the public.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SelectaDNA
Ooh, that's good tech
Can we make it lower sperm count too?
At least there's a political consensus on this issue
Anybody remember that part of the mayoral debate where the two candidates vociferously agreed that the solution to the ATV problem was more wraparound services, community centers, and such?
I think Wu was the most vocal, but AEG got right with the program.
If only these "kids" had more constructive things to do!
I do not mean to be alarmist,
I do not mean to be alarmist, but I honestly feel that it's a minor indictment of our city that we continue to allow this kind of low-grade chaos to persist.
Obviously, enforcement of laws requires restraint; but there must be something that can be done to stop these hell raisers.
There's this kid in Illinois
Who might have an idea. Appears to have some free time, too.
An SUV driver in Wisconsin too.
The elephants in the room are generally guns and motor vehicles when talking about persistent chaos and hell raisers.
Why not the Texas way?
Or, you know, the Texas approach, which would be to pass a law exempting from criminal and civil action any driver who hits and kills any other vehicle operator operating illegally. What could possibly go wrong? /s
BIKERS
Thats what happens when you drive them out of Franklin Park
I saw them all on Washington St
Thursday night. There were tons of them on all different kinds of motorcycles and ATV's, and they right through like 3 red lights. If I were driving I would've been terrified. Mayor needs to get on this at some point. Walsh never did and Janey ignored it.
Dirty Harry fantasies aside:
I've seen similar scenes (minus the violence, but you know there's always a threat of it,) all around Boston and surrounding highways.
It doesn't take much imagination to foresee what would result from someone defending themselves with a gun, or their vehicle. Tragic as this story is, I don't trust it would have turned out less so if he were armed.
How about pressuring the police to actually do what we pay them with our taxes to do? Confiscate the dirtbikes, etc. drag the riders into court, and have them pay the price of the numerous laws they are breaking.
Yep, as soon as someone brings out a gun, more guns come out
and then bystanders a good distance away can get killed. Doesn't seem like much of an improvement.