Velo News reported today that the L.A. doctor who was convicted of assaulting a pair of cyclists with his car on July 4th was sentenced to five years in prison for his actions. This is BIG TIME precedent, and all though it is not going to change how some people feel about our right as cyclists to ride on the road and share the road legally with motor vehicles, it does make a statement letting them know that they will be held accountable, with very serious ramifications, for their actions should they decide to use their vehicle in an aggressive manner against defenseless riders on bikes. The jist of the story, this doc had some anger issues with cyclists riding his hood for years. On the day in question, he passed these two riders while descending a road from his home and yelled words at them to the effect of riding single file. The doctor then pulled around and infront of the cyclists and slammed on his brakes sending one of them through his rear windhsield and causing the other to crash as well. Needless to say the rider who launched through the glass was pretty severely injured almost cutting his shnoz off and busting up his shoulder. When police arrived Dr. Christopher Thomas Thompson told police he was trying to "teach (the two riders) a lesson".
For this, the doc is going to prison for five years....boy is he going to have a dirty chamois.
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