We just got this report from one of our readers. He says he does not want us to use his name because the suspect is still at large.
At approximately 7:10 p.m. on Tuesday, July 27 a 16 year-old Queen Anne/Magnolia resident was riding his bicycle on the 2700 block of Gilman Avenue West when a vehicle stopped in front of him. The driver (a Caucasian male, 18-21, shirtless, wearing red shorts, about 6′ tall, with short blond hair and an athletic build), exited the vehicle with a soccer ball and used the ball to knock the rider off his bicycle. The rider was thrown to the ground violently. The driver continued to attack the rider, who, knowing he was seriously injured, fled. A passenger in the driver’s car took the bicycle and they fled. The vehicle was a silver or gray late-model Subaru Outback or similar without a license plate on the front.
The rider was taken to the emergency room with lacerations, bruises, scrapes and severe pain in his left elbow and wrist. The elbow was severely fractured and will require immediate surgery. It will be several months before he will regain normal use of his arm. The victim did not know the driver. But the driver said something that indicated he believed the rider had stolen his bicycle, which was not the case. The bike is unique: a Cervelo P2-SL frameset with all custom parts and a fixed gear (one-speed). The rider works at a local bike shop and built the bike himself at the shop. The bike was stolen several months ago from the rider. A couple of weeks ago, it was discovered chained to a post near the Green Lake Small Craft Center with another bike, a Lemond. Police were called, and the rider produced his invoice for the frame with a matching serial number, and another worker at the bike shop attested to the fact that the bike belonged to the rider. The police gave the bike back to the rider.
Here is a picture they sent of the bike from when it was first built. It now has road drop bars.
It is possible that the driver purchased the bike after it had been stolen and believed the rider had stolen it from him. During the attack, he yelled something about where the "Lemond" was. But knocking a bicyclist off a bike going downhill at perhaps 20+ mph is not the appropriate way to deal with a situation like this. Serious, expensive injuries to the innocent victim resulted and they could have been far worse. Seattle police are investigating the crime and are looking for the driver and passengers of the vehicle. If you have any information about this, please contact Officer Sideris (#6803) at the West Precinct, 206.684.8917. The incident number is: 10-258171.
12 responses so far ↓
1 Donny // Jul 27, 2010 at 11:15 pm
It was probably a couple of anti road diet wacko’s.
2 Burke G // Jul 28, 2010 at 9:26 am
Wow, that is crazy. Commit a violent crime over a bicycle that doesnt belong to you. Keep an eye out for this car and report every one you see around Magnolia, Queen Anne and Greenlake. A person with anger and judgement like this has a bright future ahead of him– in prison. Let’s help him out.
3 MAXIMA // Jul 28, 2010 at 9:56 am
Sorry Donny, the wacko’s are the ones who WANT road diets.
4 Blah // Jul 28, 2010 at 12:10 pm
Stupid white boy. Hope they catch him. Sort of puts the myth about stolen property being a relatively harmless crime in its place. It is not unreasonable to suspect that some drug addict stole the bike and traded it for drugs and then it got advertised and “sold” to the idiot in the Subaru. Keep an eye out for that bike!
5 Burke G // Jul 28, 2010 at 12:28 pm
Can someone in the know please post a picture of that style of Subaru Outback (coupe, hatchback, wagon)?
There are many different styles of Subarus. Find the car, lean on the owner and then you will find the bike. Thanks
6 DeDe // Jul 28, 2010 at 1:03 pm
This all sounds a little fishy.
7 ghostinprint // Jul 28, 2010 at 1:33 pm
I feel very sorry for the young boy.
Donny your comments only add fuel to the fire!
8 meow // Jul 29, 2010 at 8:04 am
Wait wait…this story is a little too dramatic:
“exited the vehicle with a soccer ball and used the ball to knock the rider off his bicycle. The rider was thrown to the ground violently. ”
Violently? If you’re pelted with a soccer ball, how do you hit the ground violently?
“The driver continued to attack the rider, who, knowing he was seriously injured, fled. ”
I’ve fallen off my bike plenty of times, but how do you fall off and meet the criteria of seriously injured? Did he fall on nails? A tub of acid?
9 runuts // Jul 29, 2010 at 10:06 am
Kitty, did you not read the article !
Knocked off a bike going downhill at 20 mph ? Ever play soccer ? I’ve seen players knocked cold from a ball to the head. Not too mention the rest of the article:
lacerations, bruises, scrapes and severe pain in his left elbow and wrist. The elbow was severely fractured and will require immediate surgery
Meowser, you’re asking for some bad karma with such an idiotic post.
Fall off a bike at any speed and land wrong and it could be the last thing you ever do.
sheesh
10 TypeOne // Jul 29, 2010 at 1:32 pm
Wow, that is a heavily traveled road, even at 7 pm. It was not dark outside.
It’s not mentioned in the article, but there must have been several witnesses. Maybe this all happened too quickly for anyone to get a plate number or follow the attackers. But I hope that someone called the police and came to the victim’s aid upon witnessing this.
It chills me to think that a 16-year old on a bike can be assaulted by 2 guys on a busy Magnolia street and get away.
11 David Miller // Jul 30, 2010 at 7:55 am
I saw someone riding this bike, or one very much like it, while standing in line at Key arena just before the start of the Storm game on the 25th. It would have been about 5:30. If the police can retrieve security camera tape from the area for that time, they could get a picture.
12 Mondoman // Jul 30, 2010 at 10:37 am
DM - It sounds like you saw the bike *before* this incident happened on the 27th.
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