A 16-year-old driving a truck ran over multiple cyclists after he allegedly attempted to blow exhaus

[Eugene]

Source: Insider

A 16-year-old driving a truck ran over multiple cyclists after he allegedly attempted to blow exhaust on them

Katie Balevic
September 26, 2021

A teen truck driver in Texas ran over six cyclists on Saturday, sending four of them to the hospital with non-life-threatening injuries.

The cyclists riding along a highway in Houston when a black diesel pickup truck intentionally slowed down and then accelerated in front of them to blow exhaust on the cyclists, one of the riders said.

"I thought someone was dead," cyclist Chase Ferrell said, according to KRIV. "I heard a lot of crunching. I heard brakes. Tires screeching. People screaming."

KTRK reported that two of the cyclists were treated at a local hospital in Waller County, and two others were airlifted to a Houston hospital to be treated for head injuries. Two other cyclists refused treatment.

Ferrell said the group was about 75 miles into their ride as they trained for an ironman. After the truck blew exhaust on cyclists in Ferrell's lane, the driver attempted to do the same maneuver on cyclists riding ahead of Ferrell, the cyclist said, culminating in the collision.

-snip-

Read more: https://www.insider.com/truck-runs-over-cyclists-hospitalized-after-attempted-blow-smoke-exhaust-2021-9

[joetheman]

1. I hope someone got his tag and he will soon be arrested. nt

[LisaL]

5. Police know who he is, they just haven't arrested him.

Why, I have no clue.

[TheRealNorth]

16. Sounds like if your a liberal in that county...

You have to be prepared to "Stand your Ground", and can't count on the cops for justice.

[plimsoll]

39. He's a motorist

They were road using while not motorist.

Josh Marshal actually made a very salient point about motorists and bicyclists. The motorists have the advantage of physics on their side, I think people know law enforcement probably won't do anything. It's a recipe for this kind of behavior and the results.

[Sherman A1]

2. The article indicated that the driver was not arrested

One has to wonder why?

[paleotn]

3. "Authorities didn't comment on the drivers condition"? Oh, I'll comment.....

Charged as an adult. Short of that, I hope he's in Juve until he turns 18.

[Hoyt]

4. Hopefully, police will file charges and some cyclists will win civil suits.

[MLAA]

6. Hmmm the driver wasn't shot or even arrested....must have been white kid.

[BradAllison]

49. Abbot will give him a "Freedom of Speech" award n/m

[Shrike47]

7. I bet the driver is white.

[Tribetime]

22. And a Trump puppet

[Champp]

8. His cellmates will want to hear how he "owned the libs"

Degenerate Republicans are a menace. Lock him up.

[Treefrog]

51. He won't do a day of time I'll bet.

[rgbecker]

9. The hatred some motorists have for cyclists is astounding.

It has always been and I guess will always be.

I think it comes from the fact the motorists think they are somehow being impeded from using the road as they like.

I'm 74. I can remember riding on the the highway (not an interstate) to go camping at a state park in Missouri with a friend when I was 14 or 15. People would pass us shouting obscenities and throwing beer cans at us and flipping the bird.

Now its in Massachusetts...enraged drivers roaring past the bicyclists honking and enraged that they have to wait to pass and drive with some care.

[cab67]

27. Hatred is always misplaced, but there's room for annoyance.

I've lost count of the number of cyclists who've blown through stop signs, ignored right of way, gone the wrong way down a one-way street, or hopped back and forth between the road and sidewalk. I've almost killed a few of them (not on purpose).

Two years ago, my wife and a cyclist were involved in a collision. The cyclist refused to accept that the accident was his fault - he'd disregarded a red light and assumed that my wife would jam on her brakes to avoid the accident, which was unavoidable given how badly the cyclist overestimated the amount of time it would take my wife to reach the intersection. (Indeed, she actually did hit her brakes, but there wasn't enough time to reach a full stop.) The cyclist wasn't hurt, thankfully, but he still tried to sue my wife for the damages to his bike. The judge didn't see things his way.

Most cyclists understand that bicycles are vehicles and thus bound to the same traffic regulations as cars. But too many cyclists want to be respected as the operators of vehicles, but also be granted the rights of pedestrians.

That's why many drivers feel irritated at cyclists. If it's another car, you can usually assume the driver will follow traffic laws. With a cyclist, it's a lot harder to make that assumption - we've seen too many counterexamples.

I say this as someone who both drives a car and rides a bike.

(Another piece of advice - you know how it's common for a cyclist on a path to call out "On your left!" before passing a pedestrian? Don't do that. I'm hearing impaired. In particular, I'm nearly deaf on the right. That means my natural instinct, when hearing something behind me, is to turn to the left, which actually increases the chances the bike will hit me. It's almost happened more than once.)

[plimsoll]

41. I see cyclists do all sorts of stupid stuff, but my guess is the percentage of stupid cyclists

to stupid motorists is roughly equal. But there are way more motorists in the US, and the cyclist isn't usually going to kill the motorist.

My son was hit by a motorist a couple years ago now, and the assumption was that the cyclist was in the wrong. My son was on the road, the driver was exiting a parking lot and plowed right into him. The driver blamed my son, the responding officer was discussing what to cite my son with. His fiancé asked "If (son's name) ran into the motorist why is the damage to the rear wheel of his bike? Was he riding backwards?" Awkward silence ensued.

I'm sure the police will find a reason the cyclists were at fault.

[cab67]

46. What you describe is wrong. But...

...cyclists are too frequently guilty of a particular kind of stupid - seeing themselves as exempt from traffic laws. They want to be treated like users of the road until they get to an intersection, at which they suddenly become wheeled pedestrians.

("They," in this context, is limited to cyclists who act this way - and as I said, that's not the majority of serious cyclists.)

[hatrack]

50. Cyclists don't typically light strings of firecrackers or throw smoke grenades at drivers

Drivers coal-rolling or brake checking cyclists, by comparison, isn't all that unusual.

[plimsoll]

52. I admit that there are two places where I use the pedestrian crosswalks when I go riding.

Largely because I've almost been hit at those intersections by motorists taking their "free right," which means taking your foot off the gas regardless of pedestrians or cyclists. Stupid cyclists are out there, and everyone remembers them, but go out and watch a 4 way stop in your neighborhood for a 1/2 hour some day. We found that about 20% of motorists actually stopped to the definition. 40% slowed to about 5 miles an hour, another 40% slowed to 10, and the remaining 20% went somewhere between 10 and the speed limit (not counting school zone restrictions.)

I don't think the anger is because of the "delay" cyclists cause. I've had to follow dump trucks up the hills here at speeds below what I can do on my bike, but you don't see people trying to run them off the road. I think it's because the cyclists should be intimidated and don't seem to be.

For the record I hope the cyclist in your wife's case was cited. I believe cyclists are road traffic and should follow the rules of the road "where safely possible" as the laws are actually stated here. In that case the law at least is on your side, even if enforcement isn't.

[cab67]

53. I check four-ways.

The problem is that, where I live anyway, a lot of the bicycle riders assume they always have the right of way, even when they don't. Coming to a full stop might not make a difference. I assume the bicycle rider will follow right-of-way laws, meaning if I got to the intersection first, I go first. I've had to come to grinding halts several times because the bike rider ignored these laws and darted out in front of me. Rolling stops seem to be as common among bike riders as among car drivers.

I'm now drawing a distinction between cyclists who view themselves as users of the road and know what that means, and bicycle riders who feel entitled to switch identities from "user of the road" to "wheeled pedestrian" at will.

I'm fully aware that a lot of drivers don't respect cyclists. Any driver who does what the morons in this news article did, or who decides not to move out a little to give the cyclist more room, should be cited for the infractions they've committed. Moreover, too many drivers don't realize that bikes are entitled to use most roads. But a lot of us (including those of us who also ride bicycles) find ourselves wary of people on bikes because of past experiences. We don't necessarily know whether we're dealing with a cyclist or a bike rider.

I've only really scolded a graduate student once, and he wasn't even in my lab. He'd taken part in several of the "Critical Mass" demonstrations in our city. No problem there - it's a legitimate form of protest, and I actually agree with the point they're trying to make. But I spoke to him shortly after he rode his bike right through a red light, swerving around pedestrians who didn't know he was behind them. Want to be treated like a user of the road? Act like it. I have no use for hypocrites.

Full disclosure - I live near a college campus in the Midwest. When I'm out birding in the rural parts of the county, I routinely see groups of cyclists making good use of the roads. These people know what they're doing, and they should be treated like any other user of the road. Closer to campus, bicycle riders begin to outnumber cyclists - even well before we've reached campus - and simply assume that cars can and will stop for them. My wife's example shows this can sometimes be a very bad assumption, even if there's no ill-intent on anyone's part.

[AllaN01Bear]

33. i got doored once . not plesant.

[Ferryboat]

10. Rolling coal

Its a thing.

Object is to dump diesel smoke in the face of those perceived as environmentalists or "libs". Kinda like blocking a charging station for Electric cars.

[Buckeye_Democrat]

28. Yep. Some people actually HATE others for not...

... causing harm as they do.

And it doesn't matter if the bicyclists own the most carbon-emitting cars on the planet, but they're interested in bicycling too. At that moment, on their bicycles, they're hated environmentalists to some people.

I sometimes dealt with large pick-up trucks driving within an inch of my back bumper, when I owned a Toyota Prius, despite how we were both driving well over the speed limit. Then they'd slow down after I made a quick and unexpected exit. It's never happened to me since I got another car.

[Grokenstein]

35. And then, of course, bawling up a storm about the cost of filling his tank.

"Why dudn't that damn socialismist in the White House BRING GAS PRICES DOWN?!??2?"

[Zorro]

56. I had an encounter in Florida with a coal rolling asshole this summer

I was driving my Tesla and had this dipshit pull out in front of me in his ratty truck and turn on the smoke. I backed off about 8 car lengths up to the next stoplight, where we both were turning right on a multilane road; after we turned I blasted past him in the next lane lane as he was flipping the switch and let him see my backside and California plates while he desperately tried to get back in front of me. Fucking asshole. Trump bumper stickers, of course.

Yeah I wouldn't be surprised if this kid had tricked out his vehicle to roll coal.

[ZonkerHarris]

11. I'd try him as an adult because of the intentional actions here. But it's Texas so "freedom"

[ZonkerHarris]

12. Waller County is pretty fucking corrupt cop-wise so expect no charges

[womanofthehills]

13. In my rural town, a female judge killed a cyclist and put another cyclist in the hospital for a mont

Road with no traffic, you could see more than a mile ahead. She is still working as a local judge - so the surviving cyclist has filed a civil suit because the government could care less.

[Demovictory9]

40. wow

[Ms. Toad]

14. So not what I needed to see - about 2.5 hours ago

I finished my 2nd day of an MS 150 (75 miles x 2 days) as my birthday bash to celebrate my 65th birthday.

Only 2 fools (one a sag wagon who nearly brushed my elbow), and one who drove by at about 70 mph on a road that has a max of 35. Well, the 3rd who honked at me as he passed to let me know he was there. Trust me - I know. Honking just startles me, and makes me jerk the handlebars. Just pass with a wide berth.

[littlemissmartypants]

17. Aren't sag wagons supposed to help cyclists?

[Ms. Toad]

23. Yes.

Most are really good. I've done ~20 of these, and this is the second driver out of (5-20 per ride) who should not be doing this job. Earlier in the day, there were 3-4 cyclists coming toward me, and rather than trailing the cyclists until we had passed each other, the driver drove between us (same driver).

[littlemissmartypants]

25. That's scary. Whoever organized the drivers might need to have a safety meeting. nt

[Ms. Toad]

30. Yup.

That happened with the first one (and, as far as I know, they never drove SAG again).

[cab67]

47. that can happen to pedestrians.

As I indicated above, I've nearly been hit by bicycles when the cyclist called out "On your left!" before passing me.

Because I'm nearly deaf on my right side, I tend to naturally turn to the left when I hear something behind me. The cyclist is trying to be helpful, but in a way that can cause the very thing that person is trying to prevent.

(Of course, these could also be prevented if the cyclists weren't riding on the sidewalk in the first place....)

[Ms. Toad]

55. Ideally, the "On your left" call comes from a significant distance back on shared trails

so that you have time to move to the right, or at least not obliviously step to the left without being aware anyone is coming up. I startled a few oblivious souls this week on a shared trail (specifically a shared trail that was being heavily used by bicyclists because the MS 150 was using it as part of the route). They were wandering here, there, and everywhere across the road. I called, "On your left" from far enough back so they could startle, regain composure, and move out of the way - coupled with slowing down in case they had noise canceling devices in their ears.

That is a very different situation than vehicles blowing the horn when they come level with a bike. Most road bikers are NOT oblivious to vehicles with which we share the road because they have the very real potential to kill us. Most of us have mirrors so we see vehicles coming, and cars are much longer louder than bicycles so it is a lot harder for them to sneak up on us.

But yes, bicycles should NOT be riding on the sidewalk, or on the road facing traffic.

[cab67]

58. I agree it's not the same as a vehicle honking at a bike.

Car horns are much louder.

But trying to call out "on your left" far enough away to avoid instinctive turns to the left doesn't work with the hearing impaired. I can say this from direct personal experience.

[Ms. Toad]

60. So what is your suggestion for warning individuals on shared trails

so that they don't absent-mindedly step into the middle of the trail just as a bike approaches?

(And it isn't so much instinctive turns to the left I'm trying to avoid as oblivious wanderers. I would hope that someone who is hearing impaired who is hiking on a shared people/bike/sometimes horses would be walking to the right and checking behind if they are going to cross the trail. Everone ought to be - but I would think that those who are hard of hearing would be paying special attention, simply out of self-preservation.)

[Coventina]

59. We have a lot of multi-use paths in my area of town.

That means everyone is on the path: pedestrians, cyclists, roller-skaters, scooters, skate-boarders, people pushing strollers, etc. Edited to add: horses too!!

I have a fairly loud bell on my bike that I use to alert slower traffic ahead of me. Peds and other slow traffic are supposed to keep to the right and faster traffic to the left. There is a speed limit of 8 mph.

[struggle4progress]

15. Intended to harm them and harmed them.

[Jon King]

18. You could not pay me to ride a bicycle these days.

I truly do not get why anyone cycles anymore. Every other driver I see is looking down and distracted. We have a freaking mini van and not a day goes by where a driver does not veer into our lane or ride onto the shoulder. Could not imagine having nothing between me and their 3000 lb globs of metal.

Not worth it in my mind, just find another form of exercise because people are getting more nuts every day.

[erronis]

19. Yup. And thinking about crashing at 70++ years... Not much bone flexibility anymore.

[PatrickforB]

20. Disgusting. Another Trumper 'rollin' coal.'

I wonder if he had a pair of metal testicles suspended from his rear bumper.

Hope the judge throws the book at him. What the heck was he trying to prove to the cyclists, anyway?

[Evolve Dammit]

21. Hope the lib-owner, coal-roller is arrested, tried, convicted, incarcerated

and enjoys his future as a convicted felon. And his truck is cut up and used for scrap metal. Oh, and he has to pay medical bills and damages to those injured. But it is TX, so maybe he'll get a Medal of Freedom?

[jmowreader]

24. Now, now...

I am certain there are plenty of nonprofits in this young man's area who could really use a nice diesel pickup.

The parts about arresting, trying, convicting, incarcerating and stripping of gun and voting rights, that should happen. But it would be just beautiful if he gets out of the joint and sees his beloved pickup going down the road with the name of the charity that owns it now painted on the side.

[Evolve Dammit]

26. and modified back to factory specs!

[jmowreader]

29. But...but...but...

...you mean they don't want my worthless cold-air intake, useless "performance" chip, custom exhaust that flows 15 percent less air than the factory one and isn't made of stainless steel so it'll rust holes through it in two years, bumper nuts, fuzzy dice on the rear view mirror, "no lot lizards" sticker in the window, Yosemite Sam mud flaps and sheepskin seat covers made out of genuine cotton?

[Evolve Dammit]

34. As long as there's a Biden/Harris and Planned Parenthood stickers you can recycle it! Cool with mud

YS mudflaps and fuzzy dice. Send link for cotton seat covers! What's a "no lot lizards"? Not sure about "bumper nuts" either, but if it's a medical condition I don't want it.

[jmowreader]

38. "No Lot Lizards" stickers are found on many big rigs

A lot lizard is a truck stop prostitute - a rapidly vanishing species because truck stops are cracking down on prostitution in their lots.

Bumper nuts are rubber scrotums you hang under the bumper of your truck to look tough or something.

Oh, speaking of lot lizards...I was in San Antonio in a tractor-trailer once. I was up on the catwalk doing something with my umbilicals between power unit and trailer when I noticed these women who were just trying a LITTLE too hard to look like someone's idea of prostitutes. We're talking perfect hair, perfect makeup, great personality, cute little black bustiers over short skirts, lace panties and six-inch heels. One of them sashayed over to my rig and the following conversation took place:

Her: "Hi, sweetie!"
Me: "So...how long have you been a cop?"
Her: "Uhh...how can you tell?"
Me: "Because no prostitute in the history of the trucking industry has ever looked as perfect as you do." (She smiled. Nice lady.)
Her: "What should we do next time?"
Me: "Pick the most unattractive lady officer you've got, dress her in work clothes that haven't been washed in a couple days, tell her to act kinda grouchy and send her in here with slightly messed-up hair and no makeup. That's what lot lizards actually look like."

[Evolve Dammit]

45. OMG. Good story. Like a truck stop version of "lounge llzard!"

[TxGuitar]

48. I'm sure he has a bright future ahead of him

why punish him for the 10 minutes where he made a mistake?

[LowerManhattanite]

31. How much you wanna bet...

…this “kid” has local LEOs, politicos or big business in his family.

[bluecollar2]

32. Texas...n/t

[Grokenstein]

37. Can't expect TOO much from The Exploding Silo State!

I'll be surprised if the dumbshit is forced to take a safety course.

[Blue Owl]

42. WTF

[ChoppinBroccoli]

43. If This Had Happened In Florida, All He'd Have To Say Is "They Were Protesting"

And it would all be perfectly legal. Just come up with some cock-and-bull story about how they were all yelling some slogan at him as he drove by, or they were wearing BLM shirts, or they looked like Antifa or something. Heck, he could probably raise millions of dollars for his defense fund just by getting his story on Faux News and starting up a GoFundMe.

[roamer65]

44. It's MAGAstan, the PoS will get off with little or no punishment.

[Wingus Dingus]

54. I live in an exurban/semi-rural part of the West where these little douchebags love

"rolling coal" and doing burnouts on local roads, daddy buys them big diesel trucks and they rumble around up and down the streets late into the night. It's one of the reasons I plan to move. I moved to a house on the edge of the suburbs to have peace and quiet--I fucking hate these little shits so much.

[Progressive Jones]

57. 16 years old. I'll bet his parents are no older than 32-33 years old, and just like him. nt