Elijah Matheny

Elijah was deliberately struck on August 1st (his birthday) by a driver who first yelled at him, then chased him when he yelled back. The driver struck him from behind, on the sidewalk. The police don’t seem to care.

A story from the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette: http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/07236/811824-94.stm

Bicyclist Elijah Matheny was in the right lane of Baum Boulevard at South Graham Street on Aug. 1, waiting for the traffic light to turn green, when the driver of a gray Pontiac Grand Am cursed and shouted at him to get off the road.

Mr. Matheny replied in kind:

"I'm allowed to be on the road," he said, and cursed back at the driver.
...

The car drove up on the sidewalk and hit his rear wheel so hard that the impact knocked the bike right out from under him. He landed hard on his left side and slid on the sidewalk between a steel utility pole and the side of the building. Fortunately, he was wearing a helmet.

The driver of the car stopped, put it into reverse and zigzagged backward in rush hour traffic -- it was 4 p.m. -- to South Aiken Avenue, narrowly missing several cars. He turned right onto South Aiken and disappeared.

Elijah survived the crash but suffered several broken bones in his wrist.