SFist received an email from cyclist Hunter Oatman-Stanford about his recent encounter with a car on Mission Street near Valencia. He claims that a vehicle hit him intentionally Tuesday night. We are reprinting the letter below, with a few follow-up questions.
[...] I was hit on my bicycle by a car last night at the intersection of Valencia and Mission Streets. I was heading southwest on Mission, stopped at the light, when a car pulled up behind me and honked loudly. I gestured for them to pass me with my left hand, and they quickly swerved into the lefthand land and then back into the right lane to sideswipe me and knock me off my bike.A few friendly witnesses stopped and chased the car to try and get the license number, but none of us were quick enough. It was a white mid sized sedan, possibly with scratches near the front wheel well and passenger door where they hit my bike...
It has been reported to the police, but if anyone sees a similar car acting aggressive, it would be great to compile our stories.
Following: a few questions SFist asked Oatman-Stanford regarding the collision:
Were you injured?
Yes - I fell onto my right side, but luckily my bike was undamaged. I have a huge swollen hip, but nothing broken.
How's your bike? Did the car hit it?
The car definitely touched my bike, but somehow didn't run it over.
What time did this happen? Did the driver say anything to you during the dustup?
It was right at 10pm. They didn't say anything to me (the windows were rolled up) so I have no clue what the justification was for trying to kill me. Perhaps they were drunk or angry at the world. I do think there was a passenger in the car, but I didn't get a clear look at either the passenger or driver.
What happened during and after you reported the hit-run?
I called 311 and then was transferred to make a live report with the police and I let them know the direction the vehicle went (turning onto 29th street from Mission), and they took my number in case they find a vehicle matching the description.
Mission street also has no bike lane, so I'm hoping to turn this into some action to try and get a "sharrow" or bike line and repaving on that section.