The Law Offices of James M. Freeman, P.C.

This week we received the following e-mail from an apparent concerned pedestrian who witnessed a shocking and disappointing event:

In Brazil a driver drove at full speed through a critical mass, running down cyclists in his path. Richard Neis, 47, a bank worker, has been questioned by civil police in Brazil about the incident after being identified as the driver. Mr Neis's lawyer, Luis Fernando Coimbra Albino, told the Brazilian news website Zero Hora that his client would plead that he acted in defense of himself and his 15-year-old son. He said Mr Neis had felt threatened after cyclists started to bang on his car roof and broke its windows.

A Colorado district attorney has dropped felony hit-and-run charges against Martin Joel Erzinger, a wealthy financial manager for Smith Barney.  Erzinger is alleged to have struck a cyclist, Dr. Steven Milo, from behind.  According to court documents Erzinger fled the scene, did not call police, drove through town, then stopped in a pizza hut parking lot to report damage to his Mercedes. 

Chicago Breaking News is reporting that a man was seriously injured while crossing Archer Avenue near 40th Street.  The driver fled the scene.

From Chicago Police Community Alert:

From CHICAGO BREAKING NEWS:

Last month charges were dropped against the former Attorney General of Ontario, Michael Bryant, after an incident in which he fled the scene after a fatal bicycle/car crash.  As an attorney who has handled many hit-and-run cases, I'm not surprised by this disappointing outcome.  Neither is Bob Mionske, who analyzed and rebutted the arguments for dismissing the charges against Michael Bryant in his article, "This is Justice?"

Governor Quinn has officially signed Illinois first specific Anti-Bicycle Harassment statute into law.  Effective January 1, 2011, the law increases penalties for attempting to harm or threaten bicyclists. Under the law, drivers who intimidate cyclists with threats, crowding or throwing items will be subject to a Class A misdemeanor, punishable by up to one year in jail and/or a $2,500 fine.

An eighteen year old Chicagoan was recently sentenced to only 10 days in jail after intentionally striking a cyclist in Brookfield while driving drunk. 

At "6:30 a.m. on May 31, 2009, [Armando] Reza and a friend, Erik Fabian, 20, of Chicago, were in Brookfield driving a white Chevrolet Monte Carlo.

Car-free cyclists run the risk of being victimized by uninsured or under insured motorists. As I have stated many times in the past, most people in Illinois don't care about under-insured or uninsured drivers because most people in the state of Illinois drive cars. Since most people are drivers, they probably have their own uninsured motorist coverage under their auto policy. Most auto policies offer $100,000 to $250,000 in uninsured or under-insured motorist coverage.