It was supposed to be a birthday night out for the kids in San Francisco, but instead turned into a Critical Mass horror show -- complete with a pummeled car, a smashed rear window and little children screaming in terror.
The spontaneous Critical Mass bike rides, in which thousands of free-spirited cyclists roam the city, have been a fixture on the last Friday night of the month since the early 1990s. But even bike-weary cops, who have seen their share of traffic disturbances and minor skirmishes, weren't prepared for what happened during the latest exercise of pedal power.
Here's the story:
Susan Ferrando, her husband, their two children and three preteens had come to San Francisco from Redwood City to celebrate the birthday of Ferrando's 11-year-old daughter. They went to Japantown, where they enjoyed shopping and taking in the blooming cherry blossoms.
Things took a turn for the worse at about 9 p.m., when the family was leaving Japantown -- just as the party of about 3,000 bikers was winding down its monthly red-lights-be-damned ride through the city.
Suddenly, Ferrando said, her car was surrounded by hundreds of cyclists.
Not being from San Francisco, Ferrando thought she might have inadvertently crossed paths with a bicycle race and couldn't figure out why the police, who she had just passed, hadn't warned her.
Confusion, however, quickly turned to terror, she said, when the swarming cyclists began wildly circling around and then running into the sides of her Toyota van.
Filled with panic, Ferrando said, she started inching forward until coming to a stop at Post and Gough streets, where she was surrounded by bikers on all sides.
A biker in front blocked her as another biker began pounding on the windshield. Another was pounding on her window. Another pounded the other side.
"It seemed like they were using their bikes as weapons,'' Ferrando said. One of the bikers then threw his bike -- shattering the rear window and terrifying the young girls inside.
All the while, Ferrando was screaming, "There are children in this car! There are children in this car!"
She had the presence of mind to dial 911 on her cell phone -- and within minutes, the squad of motorcycle cops who were assigned to keep an eye on the ride descended on the scene.
The cyclists were loudly demanding that Ferrando be arrested for hit and run.
According to police, Ferrando had allegedly tapped one of the cyclists' tires.
When the alleged bicycle victim was approached, however, he said he wasn't hurt. He also refused to give his name or any other information.
Then, after a few swear words, the alleged victim took off on his bike while the rest of the crowd continued to yell at both the cops and the van.
Sgt. Ed Callejas -- the lead cop on the scene and a veteran of Critical Mass rides since their inception -- said he'd never seen anything like it before.
"I've seen the bikes swarm cars, and scratch them as they go by. I've seen guys get out of their cars and start fighting with the bikers, but if you had seen the faces on those little girls in tears,'' Callejas said. "All I could do was apologize for what they had been through."
The sergeant suggested that Ferrando write a letter to the mayor.
Estimated damage to the car: $5,300.
Hmm...roving gangs who show absolutely no respect for the law or the rights of fellow citizens, engage in acts of intimidation, terrorize children, destroy property, all while the so-called authorities look on and do nothing. (Write the mayor a letter???? Jeeeezzzzussss.)
Is this San Francisco in 2007 or Munich in 1933?
2 comments:
From the SF Chronicle:
"Many witnesses state that Ferrando recklessly accelerated into a crowd and hit the bicyclist so hard the bike was lodged under her vehicle."
Although it's horrible someone would smash the car window, the story sounds different when you know she purposely ran over the cyclist in question.
What complete and utter BS. There were cops there. So she tried to murder someone and the cops just let her walk???? Yeah, right.
Anyway, SHE called 911 not the cyclists.
And gee, were the "other witnesses" part of the mob that destroyed her car? Why yes. I'm sure they are completely unbiased. Mobs usually are.
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