“Had to jump off my bike and take cover in some bushes on one of their attacks.”
Two weeks ago we received a troubling text from a reader who said they’d been attacked by drivers multiple times while riding up North Williams Avenue late at night. The person wanted more people to know in case the suspects have done similar things to other people. (It also reminded me of a road rage incident we reported in December of last year that happened just a block over on North Vancouver.)
The reader (who wants to remain anonymous) owns a bar and rides their bike home after closing. In the past few months they say they’ve been attacked twice and sprayed with a pellet gun while riding up the street. “Both times the car would circle [back] and shoot at me,” they wrote.
The first time was a few month ago and it happened while they were biking north on Williams just past Skidmore. They say someone driving a Toyota Camry four-door hit them and another rider and made two more passes before the riders were able to elude the car north of the Killingsworth intersection (which is one-way only).
They decided to reach out after their second attack because it was so much worse than the first one. They were attacked three times by the same driver (in a Chevy Tahoe SUV), starting on NE 7th and Tillamook, then on Tillamook between MLK and Williams, and then again while riding north on Williams.
Here’s how it went down:
“I was literally being hunted by a Chevy Tahoe that was full of people yelling ‘We’re going to kill you m’fer!!’ Seriously was scared for my life. Had to jump off my bike and take cover in some bushes on one of their attacks and then take invasive [sic] maneuvers and alter my route home to escape.”
The bike rider says the vehicle didn’t have a license plate, but they still reported the incident to the Portland Police non-emergency line. We followed up with PPB and they confirmed the report.
If this type of thing has happened to you, please make sure to call it into the police so we have some record and data to track how often it happens. For the rider who shared their story with us, we’re just happy they were not seriously injured.
“I just think other late night cyclists need to know and be prepared,” they shared. “North Williams now has bandits hunting cyclists late at night!”
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