Authorities began an investigation into an assault against a cyclist on Sept. 29 as a hate crime, according to the Palo Alto Police Department (PAPD.
Just after 5:30 p.m. that day, dispatch received a call reporting a hit-and-run collision with injuries. Palo Alto Fire Department and officers with PAPD were dispatched to the scene. Police say an investigation showed that a man in his 30s was riding his bicycle heading east on University Avenue. The man reported he temporarily pulled further into the traffic lane to pass a vehicle that was attempting to park.
The man says that the suspect, described by the victim as a White man in his 30s, pulled up next to the bicyclist and began to yell at him for riding in the middle of the road. Police say the two men began to argue when the truck driver called the bicyclist a racial epithet and spat on him before reaching out to grab his arm and ultimately striking the bicyclist with his truck. The cyclist suffered a cut on his leg and was treated by paramedics.
The collision caused the victim to fall to the ground. He says the suspect then drove his truck over the victim’s bicycle before driving north on Webster Street before turning east on Lytton Avenue. The victim told police he later saw that truck turn back onto University Avenue heading east.
This article is a part of a series of articles for Our Weekly’s #StopTheHate campaign and is supported in whole or part by funding provided by the State of California, administered by the California State Library. #NoPlaceForHateCA,
#StopAAPIHate, #CaliforniaForAll
