A California motorist suffered a broken back and rib after a bicycle-riding mob beat him up on a Santa Clara street amid an accident dispute Saturday, KGO-TV reported.
“On my left side, I have fractured rib number 12,” John Hidalgo recounted to the station. “And my number two lumbar vertebrae was fractured. You know, might not look like I’m severely injured, but, you know, I am in pain.”
‘The next time it happens, are they going to kill someone? Is somebody going to be tired of what they’re doing and run them over?’
Hidalgo told KGO an e-bike rider who ran a red light hit his car — and then a larger group on bikes arrived shortly after and blamed him for the accident.
Video shows the group brutally beating, kicking, and jumping on Hidalgo and destroying his car, the station said. You can view clips of the physical attack in KGO’s video report.
“I was just fighting for my life, you know?” Hidalgo added to the station. “I mean, you don’t really have time to think. It is unbelievable. But it’s starting to become kind of the norm now.”
Hidalgo told KGO he believes this group was part of a “ride out” — an informal gathering of bike riders who take over streets and sometimes perform dangerous stunts.
More from the station:
Our cameras captured video of another “ride out” on Highway 101 in San Jose, where bike riders were slowing traffic behind them.
We’ve also recently reported on other “ride outs” that turned violent, including one where a man was attacked near San Francisco’s Aquatic Park.
“It’s disheartening when you think about innocent people who are getting affected by this,” Hidalgo also told KGO. “The next time it happens, are they going to kill someone? Is somebody going to be tired of what they’re doing and run them over?”
The Santa Clara Police Department told the station they are aware of the video and are investigating the incident.
RELATED: Blaze News original: A dozen times gangs on motorcycles, ATVs, and bikes harassed, attacked, and killed others
Image source: Santa Clara (Ca.) Police Department
“We see these kids all the time swerving into traffic, swerving on the sidewalks, trying to hit people, we got to put a stop to it,” Hidalgo also told KGO. “When people are getting injured and violent crimes are happening, I don’t think that’s too much to ask for.”
Blaze News has covered similar incidents involving bike-riding mobs.
About a year ago, Los Angeles Police said a group of bike riders — ranging in age between 16 and 18 years old — physically attacked a lone male victim at an intersection in broad daylight. The attack was captured on cellphone video, which shows the mob of at least a dozen repeatedly punch, kick, and stomp on the victim, who winds up flat on his back and barely moving in the middle of the busy street.
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