[Octane]

I'm sure it's happened to most of us, being hit by a thrown object from someone in a passing car.

Yesterday, while riding down Dry Creek Road in Napa, some kids threw a full Gatorade bottle at me. They were traveling the same direction as I was, traveling at about 40 mph. The bottle hit me in the back of the thigh. The people at the nearby park (Alston) said they could hear the impact of the bottle when it hit me. It hit me directly with it's top/orange lid, with enough force to collapse the top of the bottle and blow out the bottom of the bottle.

The guy that happened to be driving behind the kids who threw it quickly stopped, asked if I was ok, and then followed the vehicle and got their license plate number.

I phoned the police with the info, and an officer actually came out and talked with me regarding the incedent. Because of the license plate info he knows who's vehicle it was, and it was actually his neighbors!

The kid driving just recieved his license and shouldn't have passengers in the car. The officer went to the parents house of the driver, and spoke to them. The kid admitted what happened. He gave the officer the 2 other kids info and the officer went to their house. They admitted what had been done.

The parents of the kids want my personal information to phone me and apologize. I have not released this info.

The officer wants to know if I will be pressing criminal or civil charges.

What do you guys think?

Some additional info:
My leg is severely swollen and bruised and I can barely walk.
I get married this Saturday.
There have been other recent reports of similar incedents from the same make/model of vehicle. But the other reports didn't get the license plate number.

-B

 

[CharacterZero]

Repeat offenders? Sure, press charges.

If they are under 18, it will go away after their birthday and won't follow them around forever, which would make me more inclined for them to learn the lesson the hard way. Everyone makes mistakes, theirs could be made early.

 

[Roeland]

I would consider pressing charges. They could've killed you. All their driving priviledges should be revoked, and they should be shuttled around by their parents til they are 18.

 

[Ham Er Hed]

I think the kids should face some punishment. I think you shoul talk to the officer to see what the options are. The driver should get hit with having other kids in the car and lose his license for a month or whatever it is. All of the kids should have to "volunteer" to pick up litter for 8 hours on a Saturday.

Sure we all did stupid ish when we were kids, but they are lucky you weren't more severely injured. Plus what they did was just plain malicious.

 

[GaryCHere]

It would be interesting to know what "pressing charges" means, what is the punishment for such a thing? I agree with Roeland, that sounds like a reasonable punishment. I vote for something along those lines.

 

[Francis Cebedo]

WOW. Amazing story and it was pursued and the culprits have been found!

I met a cyclist from Tennessee who got hit all the time by thrown objects. Finally, when he got hit with a liter bottle of coke, he stopped cycling on the road. Here in the Peninsula, Bay Area, this rarely happens. Last year, car with locals around the Santa Cruz mountains were shooting bb guns at cyclists.

Those kids are in a whole lot of hurt now. One stupid act fueled by new driving privileges got them good. I don't think I would press charges myself. The key is whether they've done this before or not. I've been in a couple of these 'car rides' during high school and things get out of hand so quickly even though I thought I was a good kid.

On the other hand, if they are bad kids, taking driving away now could save their lives.

Maybe I'd talk to the parents of the culprit. If they were adults and habitual harrasers of cyclists, I'd press charges.

fc

 

[29erchico]

Go really big on them. Think about what kind of shape you could be in now if you had been struck in the neck/base of your skull with that much force. You could be dead or worse. You are the victim of assault with a deadly weapon for sure, given the speed of the vehicle the bottle was thrown from. Getting actual and punitive damages in civil court will drill into the minds of the your assailants the errors of their ways. Punitive damages can be huge. Finding the right landshark/buzzsaw civil injury attorney would be key. Getting a criminal conviction first helps pave the way for a successful civil action.

 

[chucko58]

Maybe I'd talk to the parents of the culprit. If they were adults and habitual harrasers of cyclists, I'd press charges.

I'd skip the parents and go straight to court. If they're driving around doing crap like this, they aren't going to listen to Mom and Dad. Show them they're responsible for their actions.

 

[chuckha62]

To me the issue is not so much punishing the kids (although, I do think THAT should happen, too!), as it is finding a way to get the word out to others who think throwing things at cyclists is funny. People in general don't always realize the consequences of their actions. In this case you were hurt, but it could easily have been much worse. The consequence for the kids should be real AND should be made public as a deterent to others. I'm sure there is no way to get the word out, but the story should be told in a more widely spread forum.

 

[ARider]

screw those little rats!

If they don't learn now it will only get worse.

I have had all kinds of stuff thrown at me, people don't understand how dangerous it can be for the rider. Slap these kids as hard as possible now so they get the message. I was a punk ass kid once and it took a little slapping to finally get me in line.

 

[nachomc]

Bust their asses.

 

[Secace]

I'd skip the parents and go straight to court. If they're driving around doing crap like this, they aren't going to listen to Mom and Dad. Show them they're responsible for their actions.

Agreed. Put them away. That easily could have been much worse had it hit your neck/spine.

 

[HarryCallahan]

Press charges. This wasn't a harmless prank and they could have killed you.

 

[Jefe74]

If someone walked up to you on the street and took a swing at you with a baseball bat, would you hesitate to press charges? This is really no different, except they had the (incorrect) expectation of anonymity.

Tossing an egg would be a childish prank. A full gatorade bottle sounds like assult to me.

 

[tron]

My first thought was to let it go. But, now I think press charges. It wil teach them a lesson as well as all the kids in their school who will think twice about doing the same thing in the future.

 

[Loll]

My friend, you have your answer, 99% consensus to press charges.

By pressing charges, you are also representing those of us that weren't as lucky as you.

I almost got hit by a high school kid who swung a baseball bat at me. He missed. But he sped away so I couldn't get his license plate.

You need to use this as a demonstration to the rest of the bad drivers that this is not a joke and society do not accept such action.

I beg you to please press charges.

As for the parents apologizing and what not...When I got a speeding ticket, I am very very sorry to the cop too. He gave me a ticket anyways. From that day on, I never drive faster than 65. And I am going to try to avoid getting a speeding ticket again.

Same logic for the kid.

 

[2clue]

actually a egg thrown from a car at 40 mph would hurt alot also. I say press charges

 

[the.vault]

I think people do stupid things. Get a bunch of high school guys together they will definitely do stupid things * N (number of kids in car)

You probably got hit because you were a target, not 'the' target . Look at how many street signs get shot up, mail boxes beaten up etc. The bottle of gatorade was mostly full because they had not finished drinking it. They probably didn't want to kill you, but they are definitely being jerks and deserve to get in some level trouble, and have the sh*t scared out of them.

The criminal justice system does not treat every one equal. If these kids have a car and there neighbor is a cop, chances are there parents aren't broke and they won't end up in Folsom.

A buddy, who grew up in west Sonoma County, told me he would buy home run pies and try to find cyclists to hit with them. This was premeditated even. Home run pies are soft but disgusting. Now he lives in Boulder, rides a road bike and has a Ph.d in Quantum Computing... go figure.

 

[Ryan G.]

**** Brad that is really bad to hear, but I hope your wedding is a wonderful occasion.

Bring down the hammer on them so they learn the lesson. Seems as they get older if these idiots keep doing that, someone is likely to get physically hurt.

 

[emagic]

Please press charges. You probably save us cyclists from future assaults.