Discussion:
Odd interaction with a road rager
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Carmon
2004-09-01 20:54:33 UTC
Permalink
Truck driver is shot in face-off with cyclist

Monday, February 09, 2004
By Jim McKinnon, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

A Monroeville bicyclist has been jailed on charges that he tried to kill a
pickup truck driver during a road rage incident Saturday afternoon near the
entrance to Monroeville Park.

The driver, William J. Nicoletti, was shot once in the arm in the
confrontation.
No injuries were reported to the bike rider, Robert T. Urick.

Nicoletti, 51, told Monroeville police that he was driving along Tillbrook
Road when Urick, 41, who was riding the bicycle, made an obscene gesture as
the truck passed him.

Urick later told police that he reacted that way because Nicoletti had told
him to get off the road.
Nicoletti said that he turned his truck around and drove toward Urick, who
pulled a pistol, pointed it at him and stated that Nicoletti had "five
seconds to get out [of the truck] or he would shoot," according to an
affidavit that supports Urick's arrest.

Nicoletti said that Urick then reached inside the truck and shot him in the
arm.

As Urick rode away, Nicoletti said that he pursued him in the truck, ramming
the bicycle from behind, forcing it off the road.

The two men then fought briefly until Urick fled.
Nicoletti was treated at Mercy Hospital for a bullet wound of the arm.

Under questioning at county police headquarters, Urick denied having
possessed or fired a weapon. He admitted that he had fought with Nicoletti,
ending the fight only after Nicoletti submitted, the affidavit said.

Urick was arraigned on charges of attempted homicide, aggravated assault and
two weapons violations.
He was being held last night in the Allegheny County Jail on $100,000 bond,
pending a preliminary hearing Feb. 17 at 1 p.m. before District Justice
Walter Luniewski in Monroeville.

http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/04040/270970.stm

(Jim McKinnon can be reached at ***@post-gazette.com or 412-263-1939.)
Roger Zoul
2004-09-01 23:19:28 UTC
Permalink
Carmon wrote:
|| Truck driver is shot in face-off with cyclist
||
|| Monday, February 09, 2004
|| By Jim McKinnon, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette


So the question here is: Who had road rage - the truck driver or the
cyclist?

||
|| A Monroeville bicyclist has been jailed on charges that he tried to
|| kill a pickup truck driver during a road rage incident Saturday
|| afternoon near the entrance to Monroeville Park.
||
|| The driver, William J. Nicoletti, was shot once in the arm in the
|| confrontation.
|| No injuries were reported to the bike rider, Robert T. Urick.
||
|| Nicoletti, 51, told Monroeville police that he was driving along
|| Tillbrook Road when Urick, 41, who was riding the bicycle, made an
|| obscene gesture as the truck passed him.
||
|| Urick later told police that he reacted that way because Nicoletti
|| had told him to get off the road.
|| Nicoletti said that he turned his truck around and drove toward
|| Urick, who pulled a pistol, pointed it at him and stated that
|| Nicoletti had "five seconds to get out [of the truck] or he would
|| shoot," according to an affidavit that supports Urick's arrest.
||
|| Nicoletti said that Urick then reached inside the truck and shot him
|| in the arm.
||
|| As Urick rode away, Nicoletti said that he pursued him in the truck,
|| ramming the bicycle from behind, forcing it off the road.
||
|| The two men then fought briefly until Urick fled.
|| Nicoletti was treated at Mercy Hospital for a bullet wound of the
|| arm.
||
|| Under questioning at county police headquarters, Urick denied having
|| possessed or fired a weapon. He admitted that he had fought with
|| Nicoletti, ending the fight only after Nicoletti submitted, the
|| affidavit said.
||
|| Urick was arraigned on charges of attempted homicide, aggravated
|| assault and two weapons violations.
|| He was being held last night in the Allegheny County Jail on
|| $100,000 bond, pending a preliminary hearing Feb. 17 at 1 p.m.
|| before District Justice Walter Luniewski in Monroeville.
||
|| http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/04040/270970.stm
||
|| (Jim McKinnon can be reached at ***@post-gazette.com or
|| 412-263-1939.)
Zoot Katz
2004-09-01 23:36:48 UTC
Permalink
Post by Roger Zoul
So the question here is: Who had road rage - the truck driver or the
cyclist?
"Nicoletti said that he turned his truck around and drove toward
Urick"

IOW, the cyclist didn't chase down the truck to shoot the driver and
I've never been satified that it was even the cyclist's gun.
--
zk
Badger_South
2004-09-01 23:47:22 UTC
Permalink
Post by Roger Zoul
|| Truck driver is shot in face-off with cyclist
||
|| Monday, February 09, 2004
|| By Jim McKinnon, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
So the question here is: Who had road rage - the truck driver or the
cyclist?
Yeah this sounds like a case of man bites dog. A paraffin test will tell
who fired the gun, though.

-B
Mitch Haley
2004-09-02 00:28:56 UTC
Permalink
Post by Roger Zoul
|| Truck driver is shot in face-off with cyclist
||
|| Monday, February 09, 2004
|| By Jim McKinnon, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
So the question here is: Who had road rage - the truck driver or the
cyclist?
If you believe the cyclist's story, the driver was.
Somebody yelled at him, he responded in kind, the original
instigator then threatened him with a deadly weapon.
The cyclist then defended himself with a deadly weapon, and
shot the driver when the driver refused to relinquish his weapon.

In contrast, many police officers have jumped in front of moving
vehicles, and then shot the driver "in self defense" because the
vehicle was moving towards them. I've never heard of one of them
being charged with any crime whatsoever.

BTW, we went over this back in February, who drug it up again?
H
2004-09-02 14:15:32 UTC
Permalink
Post by Mitch Haley
Post by Roger Zoul
[...]
So the question here is: Who had road rage - the truck driver or the
cyclist?
If you believe the cyclist's story, the driver was.
Somebody yelled at him, he responded in kind, [...]
"...he responded in kind..."

That's where the problem starts with road rage incidents.

If the victim of the initial act of road rage can just be cool and let
it pass, subsequent acts of stupidity do not occur. This true for both
motorists and cyclists.

In this case, if the cyclist had held his tounge for 2 seconds, he
would not be facing assault charges (which could be life-ruining), a
guy would not have been shot, multiple lawyers would not be 10's of
thousands of dollars richer, and this stupid avoidable case would not
be in the court system.

Responding to road rage just isn't worth it. Its not worth the risk to
your life, car, beater bike, or even your retro cycling apparel. Its
not even worth gritting your teeth for.

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