Houston attack: Cyclists claim self-defense after video showing riders attacking man's car
HOUSTON - The now viral video shows a group of cyclists in Houston attacking a driver's vehicle, many people saw it and immediately sympathized with the driver; condemning the actions of these cyclists, but FOX 26 spoke exclusively with two men who were in that crowd, and they say there's a video clip leading up to it that people didn't see.
"He cut in toward the back of the line, and he took off, we told him there are still more people, and he took off striking the biker on the opposite lane," said Joshua, one of the men who witnessed the incident.
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He and another witness named Phi, say the driver was the aggressor. He was upset after the group of nearly 400 cyclists stopped traffic while they passed the intersection of South McGregor and Scott Street on Thursday evening. They say the driver refused to wait and started speeding back and forth between the riders; they claim he hit two different people and that's why they started surrounding his car.
They also say at one point during that altercation, he had a knife in his hand.
"We acted in self-defense, it was shocking to everyone he put everyone's life in danger, and we acted the way, we acted in self-defense," said Joshua.
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Joshua and Phi say while they don't condone what happened, they have a right to be on the road and to protect the hundreds of men, women, and children riding along with them.
"People continue thinking of us as an angry mob of riders, destructive riders, destructing anyone disturbing the peace, we aren't about that, we're more family-friendly."
Just over an hour before this story aired, FOX 26 received a phone call from the driver seen in the video. He said the cyclists were looking for trouble, and that he wants to tell his side of the story. He is expected to speak with FOX 26 on Tuesday.
We have reached out to police asking if they're investigating this incident.
Check back later for updates.