Tall, pink bike provokes alleged low blow (Comments: 2)
Author: Jason Crane
Date: 26 September, 2008
Category: Albany, Commuting, Jason Crane, safety
Many Albany-area RocBike readers know Andrew, the cyclist in this story. It really makes my blood boil:
Tall, pink bike provokes alleged low blow
By MARC PARRY, Staff writer
First published: Thursday, September 25, 2008Andrew Franciosa pedals a giant pink bike all over town, so the UAlbany junior is used to taunts.
But a 260-pound driver punching him in the head?
It may be a new one in the annals of local anti-bike rage.
The alleged assault, first reported in the Albany Student Press, took place on a recent Wednesday, as Franciosa rode his fluorescent bike toward UAlbany on Fuller Road.
Robert Dames drove by and “some words were exchanged,” said Albany police spokesman Detective James Miller.
Words turned to fists: Unprovoked, Miller said, Dames punched Franciosa in the face.
“It looks like a case of the defendant thinking that the victim was taking up too much space on the roadway,” Miller said.
Vertical space, maybe. The student rides a tall bike that he built by welding two frames together.
After the alleged attack, Franciosa told the Albany Student Press that he had a bloody lip and it hurt to brush his teeth. He didn’t know what set off Dames, who was charged with misdemeanor assault.
“I think he was mostly offended by how cool it (the pink bike) was when he was driving a ‘92 Buick,” Franciosa told the paper.
The original story is here. It had a photo in the paper, but not in the online version.
2 comments to “Tall, pink bike provokes alleged low blow”