A beautiful afternoon ride on the Westside Highway turned into a ride from hell on Sunday when scores of bikers descended on a motorist in a black SUV.
At the beginning of this 6 1/2 minute clip posted on YouTube, which is now the focus of a police investigation, you see the bikers swarm the Range Rover. One stopped right in front of the car, causing a fender bender.
Inside were the driver, Alexian Lien, his wife and 2-year-old daughter. Apparently fearing for the lives of his family, Lien took off, hitting a biker and running over a motorcycle before the gang gave chase.
"This man and and road rage and road rage and nobody mentions my husband in a coma, paralyzed," said Dayana Mieses, the motorcyclist's wife.
32-year-old Edwin Mieses was critically injured.
Others, including Edwin Mieses, stopped and got off their bikes.
"I understand. You are going to be scared. You see all these people," Mieses said, "Point blank is that he ran over a human being and he left him there for dead and then he left."
"The individual in the SUV did call and we responded to that call," Police Commissioner Ray Kelly said.
The next stop was by the George Washington Bridge ramp, where one biker ripped open the car door, forcing the driver to flee again.
Eventually, the heart stopping chase ended up on 178th Street, where the Range Rover became trapped by traffic with the raging bikers right behind him.
The video shows the bikers smashing in the windows, but stops short of the brutal assault. According to police, the father was dragged out of the car and beaten in front of his horrified family. The driver was treated and released from the hospital.
According to the police commissioner, more than a dozen bikers were arrested on Sunday, and 55 bikes were confiscated for various traffic violations.
28-year-old Christopher Cruz, of Passaic, was charged with causing the initial crash and not for the assault. He was charged with reckless endangerment, reckless driving, menacing and endangering the welfare of a child.
He is believed to be the motorcyclist who cut off the Range Rover before he was rear-ended by the SUV in the crash that started the incident. Detectives said Cruz was charged because his erratic driving sparked the melee.
Cruz was treated for minor injuries, including lower back pain, and released.
Authorities released photos of two other bikers involved, one of whom has a flag sticker of "Guyana" on the rear of the motorcycle.
Police say one of the men, 43-year-old Allen Edwards, surrendered Tuesday morning and is being questioned. The other biker is still being sought.
Anyone with information regarding the incident is asked to call Crime Stoppers at 1-800-577-TIPS (8477).
