A New York City bike-based protest known as the Justice Ride ended in tragedy after a motorist plowed into a cluster of bicyclists and fled the scene, but according to Yahoo! News, police now have a suspect in custody for the motorized hate crime.
New York City Police have arrested and charged an 18-year-old man for the incident, which took place around 7:00 p.m. Saturday evening near the intersection of Fifth Avenue and 25th Street in the Flatiron district of Manhattan Island. Witnesses claim the suspect verbally jousted with participants and that passengers used racial slurs before he accelerated his black sport utility vehicle into the crowd, hitting two protesters on bikes, and then driving away, leaving the reportedly peaceful protest in shambles.
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A 19-year-old woman was treated at Bellevue Hospital for a fractured heel, and a second participant refused treatment and remained unidentified. The 19-year-old victim said the incident seemed intended to terrorize. “I saw that they were coming for me. It made me terrified of what was going to happen, if I was going to survive,” she said, according to ABC 7 News. She reported she no longer feels safe riding after the incident and intends to press charges.
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