Cyclist Tyler Wren was on a training with his teammates from cycling team Jamis-Hagens Berman Friday morning along Valencia Road when their ride was violently interrupted by a Tucson driver who ran Wren and a coach with the team off of the road.
VeloNews.com has Wren’s account of the incident:
We departed for our ill-fated training ride on Friday at 10:00 a.m., headed out of town on Valencia Road, a common thoroughfare with a generous shoulder bounded by a white line. The 15-rider group was riding two-abreast in a long line, as far to the right as possible, in full accordance with Arizona traffic law. Our team’s strength and conditioning coach Todd Herriott and I were on the front, he on my left, closest to the passing traffic. Kinkade’s tan Oldsmobile Aurora suddenly and violently impacted Todd’s left side. He and I crashed hard on the front of the group as [accused attacker Thomas Kinkade Jr.] sped away. My teammates also reported that Mr. Kinkade was shouting obscenities at us during the attack through his open car window.
As Todd and I lay on the ground struggling to comprehend what had happened, my unscathed teammate Ben Jacques-Maynes sprinted past us in an impressive pursuit of the fleeing car. Ben did not manage to catch the perpetrator, but he swiftly came upon our team car, which was waiting for us at our next turn and breathlessly explained the situation to our sport director, Sebastian Alexandre. Sebastian quickly resumed the pursuit along with his serendipitous passenger, John Segesta, a professional photographer in possession of a DSLR camera with a telephoto lens. John photographed numerous cars and license plates before the pair returned to the scene of the crime for the team members to positively identify the driver and vehicle.
John nailed him — crystal clear in high-definition on his camera was a shot of Kinkade’s car and Arizona license plate. Mr. Kinkade underestimated the cohesiveness and capability of the Jamis squad. Ben and various teammates spread the word and the license plate number through social media, and within a couple hours an article appeared in the cycling press.
Read the rest of Wren’s account at VeloNews.com—and for more, make sure to visit TucsonVelo.com to read Range contributor Michael McKisson’s reporting of the events.
This article appears in Feb 21-27, 2013.
Is it wishful thinking to trust that Mr. Kinkade will be prosecuted for assault with a deadly weapon, and in addition to prison time, have his driver’s license permanently revoked – for the safety of us all?
Prosecuted in Tucson, no way. Tucson is the best city for crimes, either the criminal is not caught or they are slapped on the hands and go free. This was an intentional act and Kinkade should set in prison for 20 or more years. He attempted to kill the bikers.
I have a friend who was attacked the same way riding solo on Ina years ago. Wonder if Mr Kinkades face will ring a bell?
The bicyclists were probably blocking the road as they always do. They should have to pass a bike riding test with the TPD and be issued a license to ride as I was issued a license to drive. Their bikes should also have to pass a safety test and be registered with the state, including paying a fee.
While I agree that adult cyclists should be licensed just the same as a driver, This case sounds like the problem was a lunatic with an axe to grind and he chose to target what sounds like a well organised group of cyclists.
I have an issue with cyclists (motorized or human powered) who are erratic in their riding, presumably due to a lack of understanding that two wheeled vehicles are fundamentally different and more complicated to operate in terms of dynamics than a four wheeled vehicle.
To TexasRon: So, a cyclist who is blocking the road (assuming that was the case in this instance) should be subjected to vehicular assault or homicide?
My daughter had an occurrence at one time driving on North Thornydale when a young girl (12 years old) on a bicycle swerved in front of her car and went over the hood of my daughter’s car. My daughter stopped immediately and rendered assistance to the girl, comforting her until an ambulance arrived at the scene.
Subsequently, my daughter took a teddy bear to the girl in the hospital. My daughter was not ticketed for the accident since she was not at fault and stopped to render assistance.
I suppose, in your world, such assistance would be a liberal blight on your macho ethic?
If true, what this man did WAS wrong and should be penalized.
If Bicyclists wish to have respect on the road, they must earn it, by not riding arrogantly and obeying ALL the traffic laws, like always stopping at stop signs. I rode bikes, when there were NO bike lanes, without a problem. I had two bikes today, riding side by side in a bike lane, the left one ON the line. When I started to go past he swerves out to the left, almost causing me to cross the center line with a car coming, this has happened many times. What is THAT about? He’ll probably complain that I passed him too close, too. I’ve also had Bicyclists purposely pull out when I was turning into the Rincon store, after I had waited for them, then yell that I almost hit THEM. Respect, it works BOTH ways.
Why is it that bicyclists are never in the wrong? While these guys may have been following the law and they had an unfortunate incident with a road rager, riding two abreast often takes up half the lane and forces drivers to enter oncoming traffic. I’m not familiar with Valencia Road, but I see this behavior all over the city and outlying areas. Camino de Oeste, Silverbell, Trails End, Old Spanish Trail, Catallina Highway, Gates Pass, to name a few. These elitist bicyclists like to move in a pack and try to macho all vehicular traffic into dangerous situations. So, pretty much if you’re driving a car around Tucson and accidentally strike a bicyclist you better have a good attorney to prove your innocence because you will be presumed guilty. By the way, I have been biking around Tucson for 30 years, so I’ve seen all the bicyclists’ antics.
I ride all over town, but also get annoyed at many cyclists, who are just as capable of doing stupid things on the road as drivers. But that’s the thing. There are way more stupid actions by drivers than cyclists, because there are way more cars on the road. It’s the same thing. Good drivers/cyclists can make dumb moves, bad drivers/cyclists make dumb moves. Complaints about cyclists as if they are a single entity is as absurd as complaining about ‘drivers’ when you see something stupid.
It’s up to drivers to watch out for cyclists, as it is cyclists to watch out for pedestrians, since the larger, faster vehicle can do way more damage to the slower vehicle/person. ‘Share the road’ is not an empty saying.
Wow. Even the Tucson Weekly readership is full of carheads.
Two abreast in the bike lane. That’s perfectly legal. Swerving into the bike lane yelling obscenities is not.
Why exactly should cyclists be licensed? They aren’t clogging roads, spewing fumes, or highly contributing to wear and tear of asphalt. Also it’s a matter of transportation rights. Do you suggest those who can’t afford to register a motor vehicle can afford to register a bike?
Even though I don’t like it sometimes, these guys move in “macho” packs at times for their own safety, and also for training. It’s no worse than the hundreds of terrible “macho” drivers we see on Tucson streets every day, and they don’t have the weight and horsepower to kill someone.
Proceed to give my comment thumbs downs…