A bicyclist injured after riding through string strung across a portion of a multi-use path along Interstate 205 Friday says she hopes the people who allegedly laid the trap ultimately realize what they did was wrong.

Carlene Ostedgaard said if the three men accused are convicted, she'd advocate they not receive additional jail or prison time, but that they meet with her, apologize, perform community service and engage in other activity that "would make them better people."

"I would want them to look at me and recognize my humanity and recognize that the people who they likely perceived as being there for their entertainment are real people with lives," said Ostedgaard, 35. "They damn near could have taken that from me or anyone else who would have gotten caught in that trap."

Justin Jones, 23; Antonio Tolman-Duran, 27; and Dakota Murphy, 21, all are accused of third-degree assault. Jones remains held in jail Tuesday and the other two men are out of custody. According to court documents, the men set up three snares using several lines of cord along the I-205 walking and bike path in an attempt to "harass" people living along the path. Ostedgaard rode through one of the snares, suffering cuts around her eyes and on her chin.

She described what cut her as white string and said she didn't see it before getting snared while riding on the path near Southeast Division Street.

Ostedgaard said she was riding downhill on the path around 10:30 p.m. to meet her partner for pizza when she turned her head and saw what she thought were kids running up a nearby hill. They then sat on a retaining wall.

"I turned my head forward and the first sensation on my face felt like a bee sting," Ostedgaard said. "It took a split second to realize that it was more of a threat than a bee sting."

She said she'd heard of wire being strung up on a Portland bike path in the past and suspected she'd gotten caught in one. She said she lowered her head, and her helmet took the brunt of the remaining cords that had been set up.

Ostedgaard described the cords as being strung up similar to a cat's cradle and about 3 to 4 yards long. She estimated she was riding around 20 mph when she hit the string.

She said she rode to the north side of Division Street, checked her eyes and felt around her face. In addition to some cuts, she got some of the fiber from the string in her eyes, she said.

"I was so beside myself," Ostedgaard said. "I just couldn't believe that someone would chose to do this to any random person passing by."

She called her partner, who encouraged her to contact police. She called 911, confident that whoever was responsible was long gone.

Police arrived about 15 minutes later, Ostedgaard said. Officers arrested Jones, Tolman-Duran and Murphy soon after arriving. She said she suspects they were the people she mistook for children before hitting the string. She said she saw two of the men being led away in handcuffs.

"It was deeply unpleasant for me to see them at the time, to be honest," she said. "But now, I'm relieved that I wasn't more seriously hurt, relieved that they were caught and relieved that I even have the option to press charges and do something about this."

Jones, Tolman-Duran and Murphy are scheduled to be arraigned Wednesday in Multnomah County Circuit Court.

-- Everton Bailey Jr.

ebailey@oregonian.com

503-221-8343; @EvertonBailey