Caught on video: Father with family in SUV chased, beaten by speed-demon bikers

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142. Details emerge - NY Times

There's no mention of slashing tires and we cannot see any evidence of flat tires on the SUV, which stopped due to traffic, not because the tires had finally deflated. There may be conflicting accounts on striking the SUV prior to the RR running over the motorcycles as was speculated earlier. There is commentary though that suggests the SUV driver may have provoked the situation before what we see as one of the bikes pulling in front of it (0:40), as these large group rides tend to present a nuisance, as we can see by the road blockage. The rider he ran over appears to have sustained broken legs and is not dead, as was earlier reported also.

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The encounter on Sunday between the S.U.V. driver and the bikers began at about 2 p.m., the police said, as the motorcyclists filled the northbound side of the highway in Upper Manhattan. Mr. Forde said after the official ride was canceled at the last minute on Sunday, he joined a large group that headed across the Brooklyn Bridge and up the West Side. There, they encountered the sport utility vehicle. He said the driver sped up when the riders approached and hurled obscenities at them.

As the video begins, the Range Rover can be seen in the center lane, surrounded on either side by motorcycles, some without license plates. One of the riders appears to slow down in front of the car and is struck, causing the group to stop and block the entire highway.

The police said the collision appeared to have been inadvertent on the part of the driver. Seconds later, some of the motorcyclists, most wearing face-covering helmets, crowded around the S.U.V. The police said some began attacking it, though that is not readily apparent in the video. At least one rider present, Rene Towles, 43, offered a different account.

“No biker became aggressive with the driver after the incident,” said Mr. Towles, who belongs to a Brooklyn motorcycle club. “People were just trying to find out what just happened.”

Moments later, the vehicle accelerates toward the riders who are blocking its path, crashing into several of them and appearing to roll over at least one motorcycle. The police said that the motorcyclist who had initially been struck sustained broken legs, but that no other serious injuries were reported... [URL="http://www.nytimes.com/2013/10/01/nyregion/motorcyclists-assault-suv-driver-after-chase-uptown-police-say.html?_r=0"]NY Times[/URL]. <link>