Hell On Wheels ?

[Babaloo]

One Arrest So Far In Bikers' Shocking Attack Of NYC Driver October 1, 2013 View and comment on NPR.org Update at 10:25 a.m. ET. One Person Arrested:

"Cops arrested one biker and were hunting for two more for beating and slashing a man in front of his wife and 2-year-old child after a wild chase through upper Manhattan," New York's Daily News reports. Christopher Cruz, 28, of Passaic, N.J., is due to be arraigned Tuesday.

Our original post — "NYC Police Studying Shocking Video Of Bikers Attacking Driver" — continues:

Frightening video of what happened Sunday in New York City when dozens of motorcyclists surrounded an SUV and then beat the driver is being studied by New York City police as they try to find and arrest the attackers.

What exactly led to the confrontation isn't yet known for sure, judging from reports by CBS New York and other news outlets. But the shocking violence is crystal clear from the helmet-cam video that's gone viral.

The SUV driver, 33-year-old Alexian Lien, was with his wife and their 2-year-old child, according to the Daily News. The newspaper says Lien "became the target of the brutal bikers when he accidentally struck one who cut him off on the Henry Hudson Parkway, triggering a wild 4-mile chase, cops said Monday."

As you can see near the end of the video, when Lien finally had to stop again the bikers surrounded his vehicle and began smashing its windows. That's the point when the helmet cam appears to have been shut off. Moments later, according to police, Lien was pulled from the vehicle and beaten.

According to CBS New York, "Lien was taken to Columbia Presbyterian where he received stitches for cuts to his face and was released, police said. He will not face any charges, authorities said."

ABC News adds that "authorities are unsure whether the motorcyclists were officially affiliated with any group or club. Police Commissioner Ray Kelly said today that the bikers were doing an annual ride through New York City."

Complicating the investigation: Many of the bikes were not displaying license plates, and the riders — for the most part — kept their helmets on.

Copyright 2013 NPR. To see more, visit http://www.npr.org/.

[UpInSmoak]

I get so angry watching that video. I don't really care what happened to set off that incident. The driver of the range rover was scared for his life and his families. I have small children of my own, if I were in his shoes, I would of run over more of those idiots. Stupid bikers with a herd mentality. Morons! They should all be incarcerated.

[LGC]

Based on just the one video (filmed and edited by the biker) it's easy to say that the driver of the car was wrong. But we don't see what happened before the incident. Why did the group feel the need to block the highway and surround the vehicle? Does riding in a large group give them the right to take over the streets, without permission? I read on one website where local motorists (and even a rider in the group) stated that they were intentionally blocking drivers and being Aholes. If they were trying to attack my family for no good reason, I would have no problem with running them over. Judging by their riding gear (sweatpants, no leathers or pads)... I'm thinking many if them were not real riders... just thugs out flexing their muscles.

[Orion21]

Based on news reports the whole thing started with an accident. The driver of the SUV hit one of the riders, intern breaking his leg. What was an honest mistake/accident quickly escalated as the bikers gathered and got angry. They trapped the family in the car and started pounding on the body work and slit the tires. That is when the driver, with his wife and 2 year old daughter in the car, made a run for it and hit three bikers in the process. He was then forced to stop and dragged from the car and beaten, face slashed and is now in the hospital. These bikers are nothing more than criminals and should be a prosecuted to the fullest extend of the law. If it had been me I would have done the same thing, but road my rims until I saw one of the 1,000's of cops in NYC and flagged them down.

[madandana]

As Brandon says, these are not " Bikers" these are punks who need there arses whooped. "Bikers" have more respect than this.

[Babaloo]

As Brandon says, these are not " Bikers" these are punks who need there arses whooped. "Bikers" have more respect than this.

Yes They Do.

[stogieluver]

Wouldn't have happened here in Alabama. The driver and several around him would have guns (handguns, shot guns, rifles, and AR 15's) in their vehicles and the bikers would have been dead, saving the police time and the tax payers' money.

I know I'm going to get blasted for this from some, but people and good citizens must be able to protect the innocent from the thugs who are taking over.

I have guns in my house, guns in my vehicle, my wife's vehicle (and yes, she knows how to use it, and will), and I carry a concealed handgun. I am not going to get caught in a movie theatre or shopping mall without a way to defend myself and my wife.

Did you ever stop to think why there have been no massacres in the south? They've all been in states with extreme gun control laws (CA & DC, for instance). Those cowards would have gotten their asses shot off before they could kill some good ole rednecks.

[Rushman]

I'm so angered by that video. I've ridden bikes half my life but if I was in the range rover with my family I'd be bowling for bikers you better believe it.

---

I am here: http://maps.google.com/maps?ll=19.390014,-81.404334

[BradNC]

Wouldn't have happened here in Alabama. The driver and several around him would have guns (handguns, shot guns, rifles, and AR 15's) in their vehicles and the bikers would have been dead, saving the police time and the tax payers' money.

I know I'm going to get blasted for this from some, but people and good citizens must be able to protect the innocent from the thugs who are taking over.

I have guns in my house, guns in my vehicle, my wife's vehicle (and yes, she knows how to use it, and will), and I carry a concealed handgun. I am not going to get caught in a movie theatre or shopping mall without a way to defend myself and my wife.

Did you ever stop to think why there have been no massacres in the south? They've all been in states with extreme gun control laws (CA & DC, for instance). Those cowards would have gotten their asses shot off before they could kill some good ole rednecks.

Amen.

[Smallclub]

Wouldn't have happened here in Alabama. The driver and several around him would have guns (handguns, shot guns, rifles, and AR 15's) in their vehicles and the bikers would have been dead, saving the police time and the tax payers' money.

What if the bikers have guns as well?

[anacostiakat]

I thought this was about the AMC tv show Hell On Wheels.

Great show!

[Colt45]

Great show!

It's also the title of a great Fu Manchu song

[stogieluver]

What if the bikers have guns as well?

What if the bikers have guns and you don't? At least you have a fighting chance rather than cowering on the ground begging for your life like those people in the movie theatre.

If guns are outlawed, only outlaws will have guns.

[kevfi]

Just remember one thing folks.......

All trout are fish but all fish are not trout.

(This is where many of you do this?????)

Bikers in general are not bad people. I'm gonna agree with most people here and say that these are not "bikers". These are likely 20ish year old thugs full of adrenaline an testosterone. The fact that they were on "bikes" is an unfortunate coincidence.

That said, there is a lot about this unfortunate incident that we will never fully understand. We don't know what happened at the beginning or what caused a simple fender bender to turn ugly so quickly.

I'm not defending the bikers and I'm not defending the driver. If the driver struck a motorcycle and was at fault, he should be prosecuted. There is no doubt that the bikers involved should be prosecuted. This will all be up to the NYC finest to sort out. Hopefully the biker that was hit is ok and the driver is ok. That is really what is most important in this whole mess.

As a guy that has been a "biker" for most of my adult life, I can say that watching a fellow rider go down no matter what the circumstance, is not fun and it is not easy to control tempers when it happens. The unfortunate part here is that Cooler heads did not prevail and the situation went sideways very quickly.

I guess that we will all watch and see how this unfolds and hopefully the lesson learned will be that situations can be handled the right way if we keep calm and rational when bad things happen. Enuf said!!

[Spartan]

The driver of the SUV will not be charged. The helmet cam shows that prior to running over the biker there is a confrontation and the bikers prevented his ability to safely escape...straight up self defense right there.

[Lant63]

Just want to say that one of the bikers who was not participating in terrorizing the family, got of his bike and was helping a fellow rider who was originally hit by the car, was run over by the man driving the SUV and is paralyzed. I don't condone either parties actions, but the people in the SUV should have called 911.

[Spartan]

Just want to say that one of the bikers who was not participating in terrorizing the family, got of his bike and was helping a fellow rider who was originally hit by the car, was run over by the man driving the SUV and is paralyzed. I don't condone either parties actions, but the people in the SUV should have called 911.

I would be interested to know if any of the 50 or so bikers called 911. This type of situation usually goes to **** very quickly, the safety of you and your family takes precedence over calling 911.

[ptrthgr8]

I don't condone either parties actions, but the people in the SUV should have called 911.

And you know they didn't call 911... how? Heck, how do you know the bikers didn't steal his phone or something? Nobody who's only seen the video knows what happened prior to the start of the video.

I think it's really easy to Monday morning QB this one. Unless you've been in that situation enough to know exactly how you'd react, I don't think anyone can say how easy it would have been to call 911 or find a cop, etc. Using the phone while you're trying to flee? He was almost certainly white-knuckling that steering wheel. I doubt he'd have been able to manipulate a phone, even if he had voice activated Bluetooth. I can't imagine the adrenaline that must have been rushing through the SUV driver's system. Wife was probably freaking out. Kid was probably crying and making all sorts of noise. The sound from all of the bike engines, riders pounding on the vehicle, etc. I don't think you can even realistically train for something like that.

It's always really easy to look at a 4 min video - that's been edited by one of the involved parties - and say this or that should have been done.

Cheers,

~ Greg ~

[LGC]

Just want to say that one of the bikers who was not participating in terrorizing the family, got of his bike and was helping a fellow rider who was originally hit by the car, was run over by the man driving the SUV and is paralyzed. I don't condone either parties actions, but the people in the SUV should have called 911.

Do you think that cops could arrive quick enough to prevent an angry mob from dragging someone out of a car and slicing or stabbing them????

[ptrthgr8]

Why did the group feel the need to block the highway and surround the vehicle? Does riding in a large group give them the right to take over the streets, without permission? I read on one website where local motorists (and even a rider in the group) stated that they were intentionally blocking drivers and being Aholes.

The group in this video is one of those groups that goes around intentionally blocking off chunks of interstate so they can do stupid stunt videos, etc. Think of it like a flash mob for DB biker morons. They block off the streets, make sure it's hard to be identified (i.e. remove license plates, keep helmets on, etc), do their stupid stunts (or maybe even a dumb biker marriage proposal), get all the video they need, then everyone bolts. The cops can't really get through the traffic (since it's all blocked off anyhow) and once the bikers jet there's simply not enough time for the cops to catch up - and never mind the fact that it's normally 100+ riders doing these things, so there's no way the cops are going to catch them all.

This was supposed to be one of those Ride of the Century events. Groups of riders/hooligans/morons like this do this sort of thing pretty regularly:

Here's their video from 2012: http://youtu.be/DWd5_02Km_M

And 2011: http://youtu.be/EFoiTLrHHrI

And 2010: http://youtu.be/yEWcaNHuv8U

And a stupid marriage proposal: http://youtu.be/lsrlvha5Z_M

You get the idea.

Cheers,

~ Greg ~

[kevfi]

The driver of the SUV will not be charged. The helmet cam shows that prior to running over the biker there is a confrontation and the bikers prevented his ability to safely escape...straight up self defense right there.

Ummmm. The driver hit one of the bikes before the footage. That is what started the whole string of events. This is what the reference to being charged was. There was a fended bender...... That generally leads to a citation. It is rare where there is an accident where someone is not at fault.

Aside from that, ..... If you were the other biker that got hit (maybe paralyzed) when he was helping a friend who had just been hit by the driver, would you still think he shouldn't be charged? I am mixed, but a jury would likely not charge the driver.....

There is plenty of fault to go around and if the driver did something wrong, he should be charged. Some would call it insult to injury, but justice should prevail and all guilty should be treated appropriately.

[ptrthgr8]

Looks like the bikers are starting to get rounded up:

http://usnews.nbcnews.com/_news/2013/10/02/20783272-2nd-biker-arrested-in-nyc-range-rover-chase-wont-be-charged-da?lite

[CanuckSARTech]

[CaptainQuintero]

The cops were obviously too busy stopping people having fun driving on the beach to help!

[Mr.T]

I too thought this was the AMC series! It must have been a terrifying experience for the family driving. I heard this morning that the NYC police received 200 calls about this group. Not sure if anyone heard, but last week there was a story about a road rage case where both drivers ended up shooting each other to death after they pulled over and confronted eachother...what is going on!