Yesterday the world saw a Range Rover driver run over a number of motorcyclists, sparking a massive chase through NYC that ended in the SUV driver getting beaten in front of his family. Now the police have arrested the motorcycle rider at the very start of the incident.
28-year-old Christopher Cruz can be seen in the video (and in the screenshot above) in a white t-shirt slowing down in the middle lane of the West Side Highway, right in front of the now-famous black Range Rover driven by 33-year-old Alexian Lien with his wife and two-year-old in the car. Cruz got hit by the Range Rover for this brake check and was later hospitalized and released for minor injuries, reports the New York Post.
The police have since arrested Cruz and thrown the book at him, effectively marking him responsible for the half-hour chase that ended with Alexian Lien beaten and his car smashed. Police charged Cruz with reckless endangerment, reckless driving, endangering the welfare of a child, and menacing, reports the New York Post.
What's worst about this whole incident is that much of it seems to stem from a number of misunderstandings. According to motorcyclist Rene Towles present during the ride and later interviewed by the New York Times, the bikers who surrounded Lien's Range Rover after Lien rear-ended Cruz didn't intend to be violent at all.
“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.”
This quote specifically refers to when Lien first hit Cruz, not later stops that ended with Lien getting beaten.
It's also in this first stop when Lien takes off for the first time, which is when one rider got his legs broken, according to earlier police reports. One Facebook group titled "Justice for Jay Meezee," however, claims that the rider was named Jeremiah Mieses (pictured below in the purple shirt on the green motorcycle), and that his injuries extend far beyond broken legs.
Broken Spine, Broken Ribs, Crushed Lungs, Busted Aorta and the list is endless! Currently in a Coma and Paralyzed from the waist down!!
Justice for Jay Meezee also posted the following two pictures of Mieses in the hospital.
UPDATE: Another rider has turned himself in to the police, as Gawker notes. The unidentified rider had been seen punching the rear window of the Range Rover at the end of the video, just as another rider smashes in a front window with his helmet. The 42-year-old was wanted by the police, reports NBC 4.
(Hat tip to williamforte and McMike)
Photo Credit: LiveLeak