2013 NYC Motorcycle Attack

Overview

2013 NYC Motorcycle Attack refers to a road rage assault allegedly led by a group of motorcyclists against a SUV motorist after several members of the group were run over by the vehicle during a verbal confrontation on the West Side Highway in late September 2013, which the driver later claimed was out of fear of his own safety and that of his wife and their five-month-old child

Background

On September 30th, 2013, LiveLeak user GIXXARDR uploaded video footage recorded by a motorcyclist from his helmet-mounted camera, which shows a Road Ranger SUV driver running over a group of bikers on the West Side Highway before speeding away, though only to be chased down and blockaded moments later (shown below).

Notable Developments

Online Reaction

The same day, Redditor Yaro_S submitted the video to the /r/videos subreddit^[1] and Redditor JakeDeLaPlaya posted it to the /r/justiceporn subreddit.^[2] In the first week the posts gained over 7,200 and 1,400 up votes respectively.

Daily Mail Report

A few hours after Redditor Yaro_S's video submission, The Daily Mail^[4] published an article about the incident, identifying the Range Rover driver as 25-years-old Manhattan resident Alexian Lien, who had reportedly sped off during the initial confrontation in fear of his own safety and that of his wife Roslyn and their five-month-old child. According to one account, one cyclist had stopped abruptly in front of Lien and was subsequently struck by the sport utility vehicle. After the group of cyclists allegedly surrounded Lien's vehicle and began damaging it, he sped off in fear running over several of the bikers in the process. The group of cyclists gave chase and attempted to force open Lien's door several miles down the road, causing Lien to speed off again and strike another cyclist. After leaving the highway and getting stuck in traffic, Lien's window was smashed open and he was pulled from his car and beaten in front of his wife and child.

Other New Media Coverage

On October 1st, ABC News^[5] quoted the wife of cyclist Edwin Mieses claiming that he may never walk again after being struck by Lien. The article also reported that cyclists Christopher Cruz and Allen Edwards had been placed in police custody. On October 4th, the New York Post^[6] reported that several undercover police officers may have witnessed Lien's assault. On the same day, The Wall Street Journal^[3] published an article about the incident, which provided a breakdown of the events leading up to Lien's assault (shown below).

Search Interest

External References