Julian Moore was riding his Diamondback mountain bike on a quiet street in Pittsford, New York, last September when he veered slightly to avoid a manhole cover. A split second later, he felt the thud of steel and aluminum on his side, sending him careening to the ground. A driver had struck the 10-year-old while trying to pass on the left.



Caught up in his mangled bike, Julian screamed, fearing his leg was broken. When neighbors emerged from their homes to check on the ruckus, Doug Lamb, 66, stepped out of his borrowed white Range Rover, but kept his distance from the boy he’d just hit. A doctor driving by stopped to give aid, while Lamb talked with neighbors. Julian’s mother, Jennifer Moore, was called, as were paramedics and police.

But by the time police arrived, less than 20 minutes after the collision, Lamb was nowhere to be found. He never spoke to Julian or his mother, nor did he apologize for what happened. (Lamb later told police that he’d left after Jennifer declined an ambulance for her son, believing there was no reason to remain at the scene.)

Authorities tracked down Lamb, who was brought before the local justice of the peace. Although Lamb faced a misdemeanor count of leaving the scene of a crash causing personal injury, Pittsford Town Justice John Bernacki said he would dismiss the charge if Lamb wrote Julian a letter of apology.

Three months after the crash, the letter arrived at the Moore household.

“Dear Julian,” it read. “I’m very sorry that you rode into the side of the car I was driving on Friday, September 7. More importantly, I am glad you didn’t need to be treated by the attending ambulance on the day of the incident. Wishing you a safe and happy holiday season.”

Courtesy of Jennifer Moore

For Julian and his mother, it was like being victimized again. Throughout the ordeal, Jennifer said, Lamb tried to shirk off responsibility for the collision. Not only did he not give his name and insurance information to the family after the crash, but he also failed to tell the car’s owner that he hit a young boy while driving it, according to police. When the Moores asked for Lamb to be sentenced to community service, Lamb refused. (Bernacki agreed with Lamb, citing his age and health.)

“At first, Julian wanted to throw [Lamb] in jail, but we decided to be generous and ask for a letter of apology and community service,” Jennifer said. “But that letter was just him spitting in our faces.”

“I was angry—really angry, actually,” Julian told the Democrat and Chronicle, a newspaper serving the Rochester, New York, area. “I was really upset with it. He accused me of riding into the side of his car, which didn’t really happen. He came up from behind me.”

Attempts to reach Lamb for comment were unsuccessful.

Per New York’s traffic guidelines, Lamb should have kept farther to the left when passing Julian. Though the state doesn’t have a three- or four-foot passing law, it does specify that “the operator of a vehicle overtaking, from behind, a bicycle proceeding on the same side of a roadway shall pass to the left of such bicycle at a safe distance until safely clear thereof.”



Julian Moore, left, with his mother Jennifer. Jennifer Moore

Lamb had an obligation to “pass left at a safe distance until it was safe to come around,” said Steve Vaccaro, a New York attorney who specializes in bicycle cases. “Seeing that it was a child in front of him, he should have exercised even greater care, passing at an even greater distance.”

Given Lamb’s actions that day and going forward, Vaccaro argued that local police should have taken the case more seriously and that it should have been assigned to a criminal court, not a lower court. Because Julian’s injuries—road rash and a mild concussion—weren’t severe, Vaccaro said, it’s unlikely the Moores would be able to take Lamb to civil court.



However, because the case was “adjourned in contemplation of dismissal,” Bernacki had the option to reopen the case if he felt Lamb didn’t meet the terms of the court. After the Moores shared the letter with local media, the justice did exactly that. The misdemeanor charge hasn’t yet been thrown out, and Bernacki can still hand down a stricter punishment if he finds that Lamb didn’t make a good-faith effort to meet his obligations.

Lamb is slated to head back to court on February 14. The Moores said they likely won’t accept an apology letter this time around.

“We know it wouldn’t be sincere,” Jennifer said.

Update: On March 28, Doug Lamb pleaded guilty in Pittsford Town Court to leaving the scene of a crash causing property damage. He now must pay a $200 fine and perform eight hours of community service.

Robert Annis After spending nearly a decade as a reporter for The Indianapolis Star, Robert Annis finally broke free of the shackles of gainful employment and now freelances full time, specializing in cycling and outdoor-travel journalism. Over the years, Robert's byline has appeared in numerous publications and websites, including Outside, National Geographic Traveler, Afar, Bicycling, Men's Journal, Popular Mechanics, Lonely Planet, the Chicago Tribune, and Adventure.com

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