Comm Ave Road Rage Imperils Biker Fury leaves car windows smashed, cyclist leaps to safety

The rider of this bicycle was able to leap to safety when road rage resulted in mayhem on Comm Ave. Photos by Joe Chan

A fit of road rage at the start of last night’s rush hour left windows in two SUVs smashed, one bicycle pinned under a car, and one cyclist lucky to have escaped uninjured.

A witness identifying himself only as Jerry, saying he feared for his life, says the driver of a sport utility vehicle jumped from his car and smashed the windows of the SUV directly in front of him while both vehicles were stopped for a light at the intersection of Commonwealth Avenue and Essex Street. He says the driver of the first vehicle at the light panicked, hit the gas, and ran over a bicycle in front of him as the cyclist managed to leap to safety.

The cyclist, Stephen Lee (CAS’10), says he feels lucky to be alive. He was so frightened, he says, that he doesn’t remember jumping from his bike.

Casey Graves (CAS’12) says the driver of the first SUV at the intersection honked repeatedly at a bicyclist, apparently hoping he would make room for an escape from the irate driver of the other vehicle. Graves says the two drivers smashed each other’s windows and threatened each other, one wielding a baseball bat and one an iron bar, until Boston Police arrived on the scene to end the altercation.

Sarah McDonald (SSW’13) was waiting to cross the street at 4:30 p.m., she says, when she heard horns honking. “There was an SUV in the bike lane trying to go across the intersection,” she says. “I heard crunching and realized the SUV went over the bicycle. At first I was sure the bicyclist was pinned under the car, and I was terrified. I called the police. The bicycle got crushed by the cars, but luckily the guy wasn’t on his bike by that time. I later asked him if he was OK.”

Police from Boston, Brookline, and the BU Police Department responded to the incident. Boston Police media spokesperson David Estrada says no arrests have been reported.

BU Today has been in contact with the Boston Police Department and will update this story as information becomes available.

Additional reporting by Amy Laskowski.