[RP TownTalk] Fwd: [HyattsvilleBikersUnite] Safety alert re: North-east Branch Trail

Tue Jun 15 03:51:28 UTC 2010

Forwarded with permission, post by Joe Scarupa who lives in  
Hyattsville (from his wife's email)

Sent from my mobile

Begin forwarded message:

> From: MARIA BOROJA <mariaboroja at verizon.net>
> Date: June 14, 2010 2:04:17 PM EDT
> To: HyattsvilleBikersUnite at yahoogroups.com, rainier_riders at yahoogroups.com
> Subject: Re: [HyattsvilleBikersUnite] Safety alert re: North-east  
> Branch Trail
> Reply-To: HyattsvilleBikersUnite at yahoogroups.com
>

>
>
> Fellow Cyclists,
>
> Apparently I was the third of the victims of these attacks.  On June  
> 7th while bike commuting home from work (from the College Park metro  
> station to my home in Hyattsville) I was jumped by a gang of five  
> youths in the underpass beneath Hwy 410.
>
> As I came around the right-hand bend to descend into the underpass  
> there were four youths (est. high school age) sitting on the pipe  
> railing that borders the bike trail on the river side of the trail  
> and one standing on the opposite edge of the trail.  As I passed by,  
> the one standing by the trail very violently shoved me and bike into  
> the pipe railing which resulting in me being thrown off my bike over  
> the handle bars and onto the trail pavement.  The force of my  
> collision with the pipe railing was enough to bend my bicycle's  
> frame.  As soon as I hit the pavement, all five youths immediately  
> attacked me, mostly kicking me.  I managed to get up to my feet and  
> struggle with them for a few seconds before they quit the attack and  
> fled.  They never said one word throughout the entire ordeal.  Made  
> no demands, gave no clue what they wanted.  They did not succeed in  
> taking any of my possessions, but after reading the police report  
> about the other attacks, I believe I may have been targeted because  
> I was wearing a shoulder bag.
>
> My injuries included a dislocated shoulder (probably from my  
> collision with the pipe railing and/or subsequent fall to the trail  
> pavement), several broken/cracked ribs (from the assault on me after  
> I hit the ground) and numerous abrasions and contusions (probably  
> from both the crash and the assault).
>
> Facts of particular note:
>
> The attack occurred in broad daylight (about 7:40 pm) with the  
> neighboring Riverdale Park still heavily populated with users of all  
> sorts (i.e, the attack was extremely brazen).
>
> No one from the park came to my assistance, although I doubt anyone  
> could see or hear what was happening... it's a perfect location for  
> an ambush attack.
>
> 911 operators were totally incapable of directing any help to my  
> location.  As incredulous as this seems, my description of being on  
> the NE Branch bike trail at the Hwy 410 undercrossing totally  
> stumped them... they could not find my location in their system!!  I  
> finally, after 10 minutes (seemed like an eternity at the time) hung  
> up on 911 operator and called my wife for help... she was there in 3  
> minutes.
>
> The Park Police who took my report at the Hospital Emergency room  
> did not make any mention of previous attacks in the area, my guess  
> is they did not even know about those prior attacks even though it  
> appears that I was number 3 of 3.  My experience with 911 and law  
> enforcement officials was very, very disappointing.  As a cyclist...  
> you're on your own and should have very little expectation of help  
> from officialdom.  Perhaps the attackers are well aware of this.  It  
> defies logic why, after the first two attacks, this area was not  
> under law enforcement surveillance!!  There should never have been a  
> third attack and some m
>
> --- On Sat, 6/12/10, Nathaniel V. Kelso <nvkelso at gmail.com> wrote:
>
> From: Nathaniel V. Kelso <nvkelso at gmail.com>
> Subject: [HyattsvilleBikersUnite] Safety alert re: North-east Branch  
> Trail
> To: "hyattsvillebikersunite"  
> <HyattsvilleBikersUnite at yahoogroups.com>, rainier_riders at yahoogroups.com
> Date: Saturday, June 12, 2010, 2:31 PM
>
> Friends and neighbors,
>
> Three attacks on trail users have occurred the last two weeks on the
> NE Branch Trail near the East-West Highway under crossing, see below
> from Riverdale Park email list. Please exercise caution, especially
> when traveling at or after dusk.
>
> _Nathaniel
> Chair, Hyattsville Bicycle and Pedestrian Safety Committee
>
> ======
>
> Advisory Message has been issued by the Riverdale Park Police  
> Department.
> Friday June 11, 2010 5:27 PM EDT
>
> Please be careful - recent unprovoked attacks have occurred near the  
> 5300
> block of Riverdale Rd and on park property.
>
> Three recent unprovoked attacks have occurred in the area of 5300  
> Riverdale
> Road and the parks and bike paths nearby. In two of the most recent  
> cases,
> individuals were beaten severely by several young men. In two cases,
> personal property was taken from the victim.
>
> The description of the suspects has varied; however, all three crimes
> involved more than one suspect ? from as few as two to as many as  
> 13. The
> crimes occurred between approximately 7 p.m. and 10 p.m. between  
> June 1 and
> June 7, 2010.
>
> We are working closely with the Maryland Park Police to help  
> identify the
> perpetrators of two of these crimes which occurred on their  
> property, and we
> are following up investigative leads regarding the first of the three
> attacks that occurred on our area of responsibility.
>
> Please be aware of your surroundings and notify us if you see  
> suspicious
> activity or if you have additional information regarding any of these
> attacks. You may reach the Riverdale Park Police Department at 301-927-4343
> and the Maryland National Capital Park and Planning Commission  
> Police at
> 301-459-9088.
>
> For full details, go to https://local.nixle.com/alert/2492429/.
>
> Contact Information:
> Teresa Chambers
> tchambers at riverdaleparkmd.gov
>
> --
> Vernon Archer, Mayor
> Town of Riverdale Park, Maryland
>
>
> __._,_.___
>
>
> Your email settings: Individual Email|Traditional
> Change settings via the Web (Yahoo! ID required)
> Change settings via email: Switch delivery to Daily Digest | Switch  
> to Fully Featured
> Visit Your Group | Yahoo! Groups Terms of Use | Unsubscribe
>
> __,_._,___
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <http://riverdale-park.org/pipermail/towntalk/attachments/20100614/8fc0dcf3/attachment-0002.html>