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San Francisco driver faces attempted murder charges after targeting cyclists

Suspect drove 4x4 into four cyclists in space of six minutes, hospitalising three

A driver in San Francisco drove his 4x4 car into four cyclists, leaving three in hospital, during a six-minute rampage last week before fleeing the scene.

Police arrested the suspect, named as David Mark Clark, after he presented himself at a police station claiming that his vehicle had been carjacked.

Clark was arrested on four counts each of attempted murder, assault with a deadly weapon and felony hit and run, reports the San Francisco Chronicle on its website, SFGate.com.

The incidents occurred last Wednesday in the Mission Hill and Potrero districts of the city, and the 4x4 used, a Nissan Rogue sports utility vehicle, was found to be registered to Clark, who left his keys, wallet and mobile phone behind when he escaped from the scene.

Officers from the San Francisco Police Department went to the vehicle’s registered address in Berkeley, but it turned out that Clark no longer lived there, and they eventually tracked him down following a joint surveillance operation with the Albany Police Department.

According to witnesses the attacks started at 9.43 p.m. last Wednesday evening in the Mission district on Harrison Street, near 23rd Street, when the SUV hit the first victim head on, colliding with the second moments later on 24th Street.

The third cyclist was struck at the corner of Pennsylvania Street and 23rd Street, after which the vehicle was driven at speed to Potrero Hill, where the fourth and final victim was hit at the corner of Missouri Street and 17th Street.

The vehicle was brought to a halt after colliding with a lamp post, whereupon the driver fled on foot , according to eyewitnesses.

One of the victims, 39-year-old Rory Madden, was treated at the scene for light injuries before being allowed to return home, while the other three, all male, suffered more serious injuries and were taken to San Francisco General Hospital. All three are expected to survive, according to a hospital spokeswoman.
 

Simon joined road.cc as news editor in 2009 and is now the site’s community editor, acting as a link between the team producing the content and our readers. A law and languages graduate, published translator and former retail analyst, he has reported on issues as diverse as cycling-related court cases, anti-doping investigations, the latest developments in the bike industry and the sport’s biggest races. Now back in London full-time after 15 years living in Oxford and Cambridge, he loves cycling along the Thames but misses having his former riding buddy, Elodie the miniature schnauzer, in the basket in front of him.

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handlebarcam | 14 years ago
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Checking the comments on the SFGate web site - I see Daily Mail readers aren't the only ones to side with a maniac if he is behind the wheel of a car, and his victims are cyclists. And I guess it over 40 years since it was the epicentre of the Summer of Love.

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jezzzer | 14 years ago
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proper charges, at any rate....

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