Late this afternoon, several readers brought a Reddit post titled, Got attacked by 2 dudes in a white van on Thurs in NE, to my attention. It's a harrowing tale that warrants everyone's attention.

Here's the post:

"I was riding my bike to a 4pm class on Sumner in NE. I came to the stop sign at NE 17th and a white van slowly came up to the intersection and stopped. They had the right of way, so I pointed at the stop sign. They both looked at me kinda blankly so I pointed with both hands at the sign and said "look, I have a stop sign, you can go!" (more...)

The incident made headlines across New Zealand.

Former contributor to BikePortland and recent Portland resident Russ Roca and his partner Laura Crawford have finally been able to come up for air following a harrowing road rage incident that happened to them while biking in New Zealand.

Foster and Roca were riding in Wellington when a man driving a sedan passed them aggressively. After hand gestures were exchanged by both sides, the man driving the car stopped, got out and assaulted Russ. The man assaulted Russ, striking him in the face hard enough to cause him to fall to the ground, and then speeding off.
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Reader MeiLin Miranda recently had a traffic interaction I thought was worth sharing. It's a story about a display of road rage being defused by a passerby on foot that came to the verbal aid of MeiLin and her daughter while they were biking in Southeast Portland...

"My 14-year-old daughter and I had made a last holiday shopping expedition to the Hawthorne District and were cruising west down Madison on our bikes. I think it was at 37th when this happened — it's a really narrow street that should have parking removed from one if not both sides of the road, but alas.
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The alleged vehicular harassment of people riding bicycles by a resident of NW Rock Creek Road near Skyline Blvd continues to be an unsolved problem.

Mark Ginsberg, a local lawyer, bicycle advocate and member of the Oregon Bicycle Racing Association, is working to soothe tempers and make sure that action is taken against the alleged suspect if warranted.

Today, Ginsberg sent out a message to several bike-related emails lists urging anyone who has been victim to harassment on Rock Creek Road to call the police. I've pasted Ginsberg's email below: (more...)

Two weeks ago we reported on a case of alleged road rage involving a man on a bicycle in Northwest Portland. That man was off-duty police officer Sgt. Joe Santos. He was biking into work when he was nearly run over and then allegedly assaulted by Larry Fornshell. The PPB arrested Fornshell shortly thereafter for hit and run and attempted assault.

It seemed like the classic bike vs. car road rage incident; but this one just happened to involve a Portland Police officer on the bike-side of the equation. For that reason alone, the story spurred considerable discussion in the community (233 comments at last count).

Yesterday, Fornshell's son-in-law Gordon Neitling left a comment about the incident, saying that the two parties had met and that had both admitted some degree of fault. Neitling also referred to Sgt. Santos' conduct as being much more aggressive than the PPB let on. Here's a snip from his comment: (more...)

Booking photo of Glen Glans.

Yesterday, the police arrested a man who was riding his bike and got into an altercation with the occupants of a motor vehicle in Northeast Portland.

According to the PPB, at about 9:30 a.m. Thursday morning, 34 year-old Glen Glans spit into the passenger window of a van near the intersection of NE 20th and Irving because he "believed the van drove too close to him as he rode his bike." Glans was riding northbound on 20th and as the van turned left (westbound) onto Irving, the police say that Glans rode past and spit into the van. Then, both the driver and the passenger of the van got out and the three "were involved in an altercation."
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A tragic road rage story has been making international headlines. On Monday evening in Ontario, Canada, a bike messenger has died after a road rage altercation with a prominent political figure.

Witnesses describe seeing a black convertible going 90 kilometers an hour the wrong way down a street in an upscale Toronto shopping district with 33 year old Darcy Allan Shepard hanging off the driver's side window as the driver steered the car repeatedly onto the sidewalk, driving as close as possible to signposts and light poles on the side of the road. (more...)

The Oregonian is reporting that 31-year old Kevin Stevenson is in serious condition after a traffic altercation resulted in him being dragged 150 feet by a vehicle near NE Couch Street and Sandy Blvd.

We have not confirmed any details of the story with the Portland Police Bureau, but according to The Oregonian the incident occured at 1:15 am Thursday morning. Here's an excerpt from their story:

Several bicyclists were going eastbound on East Burnside near Sandy Boulevard when a vehicle seemed to be tailgating them, said Detective Mary Wheat, a police spokeswoman.

When the vehicle started to go around, one of the bicyclists started yelling at the driver. Wheat said the bicyclist leaned into the passenger window of the vehicle and tried to grab the driver, apparently upset because the car was too close to the cyclists. (more...)

Eschweiler in the courtroom today.
(Photos © Elly Blue)

At the Multnomah County Courthouse today, Johnny Eschweiler waived his right to a trial by jury and was found guilty except for insanity on two counts of assault for using his motor vehicle as a weapon in an August, 2007 road rage incident.

Eschweiler was committed to the jurisdiction of the Psychiatric Security Review Board for a maximum of fifteen years. He will be allowed to continue to live in the community under a strict set of conditions, including highly structured psychiatric care, a curfew, and the stipulation that he not in any circumstance operate a motor vehicle.

Judge McShane outlined the conditions clearly, which also included having no contact with victims and at no time possessing any weapons, "including a vehicle. A vehicle is a weapon. You are not to have control of a motor vehicle." (more...)

The block of SE Clinton where
the road rage incident occurred.
(Photo © J. Maus)

Back in 2007, we covered the story of Johnny Eschweiler, the man who intentionally used his car to strike two men on bikes in a road rage incident on SE Clinton Street.

Shortly after the incident, victim Ben Ramsdell told BikePortland that he had tapped on Eschweiler's car window after Eschweiler had nearly run him over, and verbally taken him to task. Ramsdell woke up in an ambulance.

Minutes later, Eschweiler hit another man, Timothy Mastne, who was not involved in the original altercation.

Eschweiler is expected to plead guilty this Friday to several charges, and to receive a penalty, according to Ramsdell's lawyer Mark Ginsberg.

The hearing is on Friday, April 3, at 11:00am in Multnomah County Courthouse Room 608, with Judge McShane presiding. (more...)

The Oregonian on July 15th, 2008.

KGW reports that James Millican, who ran down and then drove with Jason Rehnberg on his hood after Rehnberg (who was on his bike) told him to slow down, has been sentenced to 45 days in jail.

Along with jail, the 21-year-old Millican must do 160 hours of community service, pay Rehnberg $800 for lost wages, and be on probation for three years. Millican was charged with unlawful use of a weapon, DUI, and attempted assault (second degree). (more...)