A Californian motorist at the centre of a viral clip showing him harassing cyclists riding in a bike lane, forcing one onto the pavement, before throwing objects at them, has been arrested by police on suspicion of assault with a deadly weapon, while his BMW has been confiscated.
Last weekend, US professional cyclist Luke Fetzer was riding in southern California with fellow racer Ben Byra when a convoy of drivers allegedly beeped their horn and swerved at them, while shouting abuse.
When the motorists had stopped at a nearby red light, Fetzer, the reigning US national U23 criterium champion, squirted water from his bottle onto one of their cars in retaliation.
As we reported earlier this week, the subsequent altercation, filmed by Fetzer, has since gone viral, attracting over 10 million views on social media and generating news headlines around the world.
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“Beautiful Saturday out in SoCal, just trying to enjoy my first ride back home. If you recognise this BMW or the black and red Corvette in front, they both threw items out their car at me and a buddy,” Fetzer explained in the caption for the clip.
The cyclist’s video showed the BMW owner driving in the bike lane behind Byra at an aggressively close distance, forcing him to bunny-hop onto the pavement, before speeding off, the car’s passenger throwing a cup full of liquid at Fetzer.
“They then parked up the road, got out of their cars, and attempted to hit us (and other cyclists) off our bikes by running into traffic and blocking the road,” Fetzer continued.
The cyclist noted under California law it is illegal to throw and object or substance at a vehicle or its occupants on a roadway, with punishments ranging up to three years in prison.
“Karma always has its way,” he suggested. “Stay safe out there.”
A few days later, Fetzer posted another video, explaining the circumstances leading to the road rage confrontation and what happened after he stopped filming.
“We’re riding single file and we move right in towards the bike lane,” he said. “The driver honked at us, swerved at us, then the passenger rolls down his window and yells slurs at us, and then they get stopped at the following stoplight.
“I was angry, adrenaline was pumping, these guys had just tried to kill us by swerving their car at us. And in the heat of the moment I grabbed my water bottle and I squirted it onto his car. When I did that, I had no idea they were going to try to run us off the road.
“I pulled out my phone because I knew there was going to be some angry drivers and I was filming for my own safety.”
Following the incident captured in his clip, Fetzer said the motorists then attempted to attack them – and two other unsuspecting cyclists who were not involved in the initial confrontation – further down the road.
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“Here’s where things get so much worse,” he said. “A few miles down the road, him and a few of his buddies pulled over and stopped at the side [of the road].
“These four individuals got out of their cars and ran into traffic, pushed into the two right lanes, and told us they were going to kill us, and tried tackling us.
“They didn’t do it only to us. There were two other cyclists that weren’t involved with us at all who were also put in harm’s way by these guys. In shock, I stopped with these two cyclists who were clearly already on the phone with the police.”
He continued: “I failed to capture when they ran into the road as I was more focused on not hitting them or cars coming from behind.
“Do you think this is it justifiable to drive in the bike lane, throw objects out the window, run a cyclist into traffic just for squirting water on your car (after you already swerved at them)?
“All I want to do is share bicycle safety awareness. I’ve had multiple friends who’ve been seriously hurt or almost killed by reckless drivers.”
> Driver set to go on trial for alleged attempted murder of Alejandro Valverde in road rage incident
This week, Newport Beach Police Department confirmed that its officers responded to a traffic collision call involving a driver and a cyclist at around 10.30am on 21 March.
When police arrived at the scene, they found that the cyclist required medical attention for his injuries and was transported to a hospital.
After launching an investigation, which involved conducting interviews and reviewing video, officers served a search warrant and arrested Samir Weiss on suspicion of assault with a deadly weapon and obstructing or delaying arrest.
Weiss’s blue BMW, seen in the video, was also confiscated by police to allow them to search for evidence.
20 thoughts on “Road rage driver arrested and BMW confiscated after tailgating pro cyclists in bike lane, throwing objects, and ‘threatening to kill’ riders… for squirting water at car”
“…….arrested Samir Weiss on suspicion of assault with a deadly weapon and obstructing or delaying arrest.
Weiss’s blue BMW, seen in the video, was also confiscated by police to allow them to search for evidence.”
How wonderful that such action can be taken, and why can’t we do the same here in the UK?
Good end result, but I suspect there are plenty of US states where there would have been more sympathy towards driver.
This does highlight that cyclists should try to avoid antagonising drivers as they could be high on drugs, have behavioural issues and be armed with items in addition to their 2 – 3 tonne car.
I have sworn and made ‘wanker’ gestures to offending drivers on some occasions, but I try not to.
When you can antagonise some drivers for simply existing while cycling there isn’t much you can do to avoid it, other than not cycling.
You are quite right. But it is better to avoid retaliatory gestures if you can.
In absolutely no way defending the driver’s actions, but when the cyclist quotes California law:
“California Vehicle Code § 23110
• It is illegal to throw any substance or object at a vehicle or its occupants on a roadway
Penalties range from 6 months to 3 years in prison. ”
didn’t he transgress this law first by squirting water at the car and its occupants?
What an incredibly dumb thing to say. Read the article you are commenting on. You clearly haven’t.
Are you saying that it’s okay to break the rules if it’s to punish bad behaviour?
You should perhaps heed your own advice and read the comment you’re commenting on, so as not to make yourself appear dumb.
So the first person to “throw a substance …at a vehicle on the roadway” was, by his own account, the cyclist. There is somebody here who is incredibly dumb and hasn’t read, or maybe is incapable of understanding, the article on which they’re commenting, but it isn’t me.
From watching the cyclist’s explanation video I’d say “yes”. According to his description, there was some deliberate bad driving before the junction, but by him own admission the cyclist was the first person to get the wrong side of that particular rule.
Now, that’s not to say that what happened before they stopped at the lights wasn’t a transgression of some other law (we’ll never know, as he only started filming when he felt threatened). Had the driver not stopped further up the road and continued his behaviour I reckon that even in California the cyclist could expect the CHiPS reaction to be “you reap what you sow”. Without the footage I’m sure it would have gone nowhere.
When I was a kid, I could ride my bicycle on open roads without being – labelled a “vulnerable road user”, verbally abused, madly honked at, squeezed against the kerb, tricked by motorists who don’t use light indicators. I didn’t have to wear protective and high-vis equipment. I didn’t have or need a head unit. Cycling used to be freedom. When did it stop?
When I was about three years old in the late 1960s I once cycled on my tricycle along the A1 as it passed through my village in County Durham. I came to no harm from the passing traffic, but my dad smacked my arse when he found out.
Maybe things got worse from the 80s onwards when parts of life became “me, me, me first, get outta my way loser?”
To quote the great Billy Bragg’s song “Take Down the Union Jack”: “When did it fall apart?
It was some time in the eighties,
When the great and the good gave way
To the greedy and the mean.”
I think there is definitely a correlation between the prevailing ideology of that decade, which encouraged pushing ahead and looking down on those perceived as less successful (as Thatcher famously stated, “A man who, beyond the age of 26, finds himself on a bus, can count himself as a failure”, I’m sure she thought the same about cyclists), and increased hostility towards “freeloading” cyclists.
Billy Bragg certainly isn’t great – he’s not HEAVY METAL or Prog Rock.
And the Blessed Margaret most probably did not say what is attributed to her.
https://fullfact.org/news/margaret-thatcher-bus/
For which heaven be thanked, that alone would be enough to make him pretty good had he no other virtues.
Well Bragg isn’t averse to a bit of proto-prog rock himself:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sgt._Pepper_Knew_My_Father
@nostalgic cyclists – I suspect to a large measure the “anger on the roads” is simply a factor of “density of motor traffic”. Perhaps mediated via the “misery” of sitting in traffic (because of all the other drivers in the way)?
Population increase has probably been a thing – don’t need that many extra drivers for delays due to the space inefficiency of motoring…
Also maybe there was more understanding of the cyclist back then? More likely that “I cycle too sometimes” and certainly “I remember cycling myself” and deffo “my mum and dad cycled”.
The casualty stats suggest that while a more friendly attitude may have existed, road safety was worse. Most was motorists killing each other, but part was due to the presence of more “vulnerable road users” still using the roads.
As time has gone on roads have been “made safe” by moving those people off – blocking them with barriers, diverting them up overpasses…
And more of those people have just got cars as it became more convenient to do so. And the social pressure to “be normal” and own one coupled with them being more affordable?
My guess is that when some drivers are faced with the reality of being stuck in rush hour traffic when driving a vehicle that can go much faster, they are upset at seeing cyclists being able to move faster than drivers.
“Why did I spend 4 or 5 £$ figures on a car when a bike worth possibly a tenth of that is able to go faster than me?”
The “false” advertising by car manufacturers showing their products being driven serenely on empty roads is a big factor in this.
I think the “density of motor traffic” has something to do with it, I cycle to work a lot of days and when the schools are off and the roads are quiet I generally have less bother from drivers. When it is super busy traffic I find I end up encountering aggressive drivers. Also with it being busy drivers are all pushing in at junctions etc so less likely to see you, the classic is pulling out to cross over a road and join traffic but they can’t get in until it moves so end up across the cycle lane.
May be a stretch to prove but I think social media and the divide in society is fuelling it. Seems like we are one side or the other and hate the other. My feeds are full of road rage videos involving cyclists, posts about cyclists etc and it is all ragebait. I think this horror spreads over into real life, the difference is this aggression can get you knocked off and killed.
Obviously the busier it is the more cars there are and the more likelihood you’ll encounter an aggressive one.
People need to just consider others and be nice, it is a much easier way to live life!
I had something very similar recently. A woman in a Mini hooting and aiming her car at me. I too jumped onto the pavement. She threw a cup of coffee at me (it missed) and shouted repeatedly ‘entitled Muswell Hill prick’ (this was in Muswell Hill) Why? Because I was cycling in the road and she could not get passed immediately as it was a single carriage way. That sent her ballistic. I didn’t even think to record her registration or report her. What is the point?