Note: This post includes a somewhat graphic image of a head injury.
As usual, last Friday's monthly Chicago Critical Mass bicycle parade/protest/party was a joyful event. This time, the ride ended on top of the human-made hill in Bridgeport's Palmisano (aka Stearns Quarry) Park, which offers a stunning view of the skyline.
But on the way home from the Mass, longtime participant Juan Dominguez, 55, a machinist by trade, suffered a horrific road rage assault by a motorist. Thankfully, he's out of the hospital, but his story is a cautionary tale about the lack of regard some car occupants have for human life, especially people on bikes.
Dominguez (an old acquaintance of mine from the bike advocacy community) often proposes routes for the group ride, and helps lead the procession, but didn't create Friday's map. After returning home following medical treatment, this morning he provided Streetsblog with an account of what happened, along with a Victim Information Notice from the Chicago Police Department. That document describes the incident as aggravated battery, which occurred on Friday, April 25, at about 11:40 p.m.
He said that after leaving the park in Bridgeport, he was riding north in the concrete-protected bike lane on Canal Street north of Roosevelt Road on the Near West Side. Near Taylor Street, his route was blocked by a black SUV whose driver had illegally parked in the bikeway.
Bike lane obstructions can be a serious hazard for people properly using the facility, because they force them to merge into a mixed-traffic lane. A tragic example of this happened in June 2022, when a trucker blocking a bikeway on Leland Avenue in Uptown caused the death of Lily Shambrook, 3, who was riding on the back of her mother's bicycle.
Dominguez said that after encountering the SUV, he exchanged words with the driver and then kept riding. "That’s when I heard the driver revving towards me, so I started to evade them." Trying to get out of harm's way, he entered the parking lot of a nearby Portillo's fast food restaurant, 520 W. Taylor St.
"They were so determined to get me that the male passenger left the female driver behind with a metal object that looked like a crow bar, and hit me in the head inside the parking lot," Dominguez said. "My helmet got knocked off and I proceeded to get away from them to avoid further attacks. I went around the block to see if I could identify the vehicle and get my helmet back. They disappeared."
Dominguez said his phone was about to run out of battery, and he couldn't immediately contact the police. Blood was pouring from a gash in his forehead, so he went to the emergency room of Northwestern Hospital, where staff stitched up his wound and performed a brain scan before releasing him.
"I'm going to try and see if I can get a video of my attack," Dominguez said today.
It's a relief that Dominguez is recovering at home today. But it's horrific that the SUV passenger was willing to commit assault with a deadly weapon in response to the driver being called out for endangering people on bikes.
Here are a couple of takeaways for others who may encounter this situation.
If you don't want to directly engage with a motorist who is blocking a bike lane, but wish to take action to help prevent such dangerous scenarios in the future, the Bike Lane Uprising app lets you report bikeway obstructions.
If you are the victim of traffic violence or assault while biking, the Active Transportation Alliance advocacy organization offers a list of attorneys who may be able to help you pursue justice. These lawyers "specialize in pedestrian and bicycle law, and have been vetted by the Active Transportation Alliance," the group's website states. "Most attorneys will not charge for an initial inquiry."
Sadly, it's far too common for motorists to escalate conflicts into life-threatening attacks. So let's keep that in mind, and be careful out there, but hold the perpetrators accountable if possible.
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