http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gY1sY8UDwjs
If you haven’t seen the video above yet, I think the story is pretty clear: a man drove into a peaceful, critical mass bike ride in Porto Alegre, Brazil with the apparent attempt to kill or seriously injure a number of the cyclists. As noted in the video above, he even accelerated as he was driving through them and as cyclists bounced off his windshield.
It looks like anything but an accident and Ricardo Jose Neis, the driver, has now been arrested and is likely to be charged with attempted homicide. “Under Brazilian law, suspects are not charged until police finish their investigation, which could take up to 30 days,” the AP notes.
Neis injured at least 40 of the cyclists (some have broken bones, others cuts and bruises) and there were more than 100 in the group he drove through.
Neis’ lawyer claims that the cyclists were beating on his car and threatening him and he acted in self-defense.. (Looks like that kind of group in the video, doesn’t it? sarcasm) Gilberto Montenegro, the lead investigator for this case, has called the suspect’s story “fanciful.”
The global cycling community is now rallying in support of the Brazilian bicyclists and I’m sure there will be many events organized for their support.
The video, if you haven’t watched it yet, is truly chilling. Nonetheless, I think it needs to be seen. Click the play button above and share this video widely, please. This is a stark, and extreme situation, but it is also representative of the aggression many direct towards bicyclists on the roadway everyday (with less publicity).
To keep up-to-date with the story, visit Massa Critica (if you don’t know Portuguese, you will have to translate the page, very easily done using Google Chrome).
Image Credit: screenshot of video at top
he should have gotten a medal.
The Massa Critica website is in Portuguese, the official langauge of Brazil, not Spanish.