Fifty Years Ago Today: Cycle Gang Swarms SUV

A sign of the times, these sorts of lawless road rage attacks were only the beginning. As gang violence began to become more prevalent on the freeways, various “defensive modifications” quickly became a necessity on most vehicles:

The hell-on-wheels ordeal began unfolding about 2 p.m. Sunday when Lien and his family found themselves swarmed suddenly by motorcycles hogging the northbound lanes of the Henry Hudson Parkway near W. 116th St., police sources said.

Lien struck one of the riders who cut him off then hit the brakes. The video of the incident shows the rider swerving in front of Lien’s SUV just before the accident.

Sources said Lien stopped, but “feared for his safety” as several of the wild ones got off their bikes and began to beat on his SUV. The terrified Lien dialed 911 on his cell phone, the sources said.

“He’s surrounded by about 20 to 30 motorcyclists,” Kelly said. “They take their helmets and they start to dent his car and apparently his tires are slashed there with a knife. He’s in the car with his wife. He continues to drive.”

The dramatic helmet-cam footage, which went viral on YouTube, shows Lien hitting the gas and plowing through and over at least three motorcycles, striking at least one rider and breaking his legs, before speeding away.

From the comments: “I’m happy to see that the only people with guns arrived just in time to process the paperwork. If Lien had a gun he would have been able to defend himself a lot better.”

Within two decades, Uncle Albert would be supplying plastic armor capable of standing up to most such physical attacks, puncture-resistant tires that are nearly immune to slashing, AP flechette grenades to help encourage cyclists to keep their distance, and a wide variety of mine munitions to discourage pursuit.