Car Runs Down 40 Bicyclists At Brazil Critical Mass Ride (GRAPHIC VIDEO)

(Scroll down for video)

SAO PAULO (AP) — A motorist sped his car through a pack of more than 100 cycling activists in southern Brazil, sending bikes and screaming riders flying through the air and landing hard on the asphalt in a scene captured on amateur video and posted online.

At least 40 cyclists were injured, with most suffering cuts and broken bones, but nobody was killed, authorities said.

Police said the suspect, whose name they did not release, fled the scene of the incident Friday evening in Porto Alegre. He was brought in for questioning Monday after authorities found his abandoned car over the weekend.

The man claimed riders surrounded his vehicle and began beating on it, causing him to panic and fear for his life, police said.

But the lead investigator in the case called that version of events "fanciful," without giving other details.

Inspector Gilberto Montenegro told Globo TV network's G1 website that the man could face charges of attempted homicide. Under Brazilian law, prosecutors can decide whether to bring charges only after police close their investigation, which may take 30 days. The man is currently free.

Montenegro also said the number of people hit and injured rose to 40. Previously, police said 16 people were hurt.

Cyclists in the Critical Mass ride told the Folha de S. Paulo newspaper that no riders were threatening the motorist.

"He drove behind us for two blocks, and people were trying to stay calm. Then in the third block he ... floored it on top of everyone," Marcelo Guidoux Kalil told Folha. "It was a scene of war, with twisted bicycles and people bleeding on the ground."

In the video, thuds and sharp sounds of metal on metal are heard as the car accelerates directly through the pack of cyclists.

Scores of riders and eyewitnesses screamed and asked bystanders to call police and ambulances as they began administering first aid to the victims.

WATCH:

Comments

[Chris Utzig]

11:33 AM on 04/16/2011

Yet another reason I am never going to Brazil

[Jerry Bourbon]

04:46 PM on 03/07/2011

This is a good thing. The more critical massholes get run over, the better.

[Mike Spark]

12:00 AM on 03/04/2011

There is nothing wrong with critical mass. Ive done it in 2 different cities about a dozen times in total, and from what I have seen and experienced is that we always zig zag up and down different streets. Meaning we dont stay on one major road for blocks on end. So as to not bother any one motorist for too long. Bikes have equal right to the road, and the problem is that so many car drivers dont know this. How is it we are supposed to show them this plain fact? I dont know of a more effective way then critical mass.

[Samuel Albert Chung]

11:51 AM on 03/03/2011

Horrific event. That madman of a driver needs to be put down HARD by the law.

On a sidenote, if this happened in America, I'll bet all the Liberal Democrats would push for a nationwide ban on "Assault Cars."

[exile]

12:47 PM on 03/03/2011

so
you're not that bright huh

[joe5591]

08:15 PM on 03/02/2011

The ad before the video played was a car commercial (Prius). Seemed out of place considering the subject matter.

[g20bric]

04:59 PM on 03/02/2011

Brazilian newspapers are reporting that the driver is an employee of Brazilian Federal Bank which reaffirms the thought that if you work for government in Brazil you are blessed and superior than average joe on bicycles. Yet, no word given from the federal government who actually pay the driver with taxes taken from the bikers. Does it sounds similar elsewhere in the world?

[TitaniumAvatar]

04:49 PM on 03/02/2011

According to some posters here:

Irritation while driving makes this type of action 'justifiable homicide'.

Can we expect a rash of car attacks on folks that Text, apply makeup, read newpapers, eat cereal, look for things in the glove compartment, don't use their blinkers, tailgate while driving?

[poomplet]

03:59 PM on 03/02/2011

Was the car a hybrid?

Yes or no...why on earth is this considered a 'Green' story?

[essstivez]

11:35 AM on 03/02/2011

its ironic, how the bikes were clogging up the road causing the emergency vehicles response time to be hindered.

[TYRANNASAURUS]

10:56 AM on 03/02/2011

Every time I've been in Rio I've seen someone run over..... Brazilians don't obey the rules and signs of the road that well and the wealthy don't obey them at all.

[WhereBeTheOilBeezys]

06:15 PM on 03/01/2011

It isnt often that I get a gut reaction from seeing graphic videos but this one was just ... WOW. Even if they were patting his car, that doesn't justify how he flew out of there so fast. That wasnt a school zone speed he was pulling there people.

[DawnK]

02:10 PM on 03/01/2011

I hate critical mass. I like riding my bike but they make bikers look bad. I was leaving a little league game once and they had people blocked into the park. Some of the parents went there straight from work and it was already 8pm and then had to wait another hour for these goofs to pass. I think it is very selfish of bikers.

[NoxiousNan]

04:10 PM on 03/01/2011

If annoying people made (attempted) murder acceptable I'd be the only human on this planet.

So...you were saying?

[DawnK]

06:17 PM on 03/01/2011

You really think you don't annoy anyone? I was at Humboldt Pk in Chicago and there was a kid in the car next to mine that showed us his gun. I had to tell him that those **&%^& weren't worth him ruining his life over. Are they supposed to be making people they are aware of bikes because people are so totally unaware that they exist? Are they supposed to be making a point about pollution while they make cars sit there for an hour just burning fuel? I never said murder was ok but they are freakin' annoying.

[Alex Abel]

07:12 PM on 03/01/2011

No. You'd be the first to go.

[MrBadExample]

08:46 PM on 03/01/2011

Not to be nasty here... but what makes you think your car is more entitled to the road than my bicycle? here in NY, the gasoline taxes don't begin to cover the actual cost of maintaining the roads, and the balance is paid fro by city residents--and three of five households don't even own a car. My household is one of those. At least 50% of the cars coming into the business district are coming from outside the city.

the Critical Mass folks ride the streets for about two hours a month. It's probably the only time many of the riders feel safe on a public street.

[Paulo Henrique de Mello]

01:18 PM on 03/01/2011

@ abq-mike

So Lance Armstrong is the most stoned.... Usain Bolt, Carl Lewis, Tom Brady, Federer...... all junkies.... get real man.... if you just want to sit on your couch and watch TV, once or twice a week get to the supermarket and buy junk food.... it is your choice.... let healthy people do what they have to.

[Alex Abel]

07:17 PM on 03/01/2011

These people aren't healthy and they aren't political. Critical massers are just trendy youth using it to socialize and get laid.

[bkrider19]

09:23 PM on 03/01/2011

So car drivers are not using their cars to socialize and get laid. Right.

[bkrider19]

01:11 PM on 03/01/2011

HPost: Good luck with your corporatization process. : )