JP Cyclist Threatened With Bat In Road-Rage Incident: Police

A 36-year-old Jamaica Plain man was reportedly threatened with a bat or some sort of stick while riding his bike recently, according to Cambridge Police.

The cyclist told police he was riding down Memorial Drive and the roads were narrow because of the recent snow fall and that meant he had to ride in the left lane with traffic. As he rode near the rotary by Brookline Street the driver of a car with a Florida licence plate seemed to get upset with him, according to a report.

The cyclist rode down Brookline Street when the driver allegedly pulled in front of him and then slammed on his brakes causing the biker to have to jam on his own brakes, according to police. The driver then allegedly got out of the car and pulled out a "bat or stick-like object," confronted the cyclist and asked, “What are you going to do now?”

That's when the cyclist sped off, to get away from the driver and notify police. Police were able to pull up the plate of the car, which they say belongs to a 35-year-old man from Margate, Florida. The JP man has not pressed charges at this time.

Road rage in Cambridge is something police say they see often. In May last year a cyclist was reportedly hit intentionally by a car in a road rage incident, according to reporter Amy Saltzman.

And the year before a fight between two drivers was caught on video, channel 7 reported at the time.

"This is not uncommon, unfortunately," said Director of Communications & Media Relations for the Cambridge Police Department Jeremy Warnick.

Warnick said inclement weather doesn't help, especially snow. Even with the plows out and about, the bike lane is often the last to get shoveled.

Photo by Jenna Fisher/Patch