A Mill Valley man was arrested for what authorities described as a case of road rage after he allegedly forced a cyclist to crash.
John Donovan, 41, was arrested on suspicion of felony hit-and-run, the California Highway Patrol said.
The incident occurred late Saturday morning, when Jonathan Kibera, 38, of Mill Valley was cycling south on Shoreline Highway near Panoramic Highway from Muir Beach when he passed another cyclist, Alex Boal, of Corte Madera, who began traveling with him.
A group of vehicles began passing the cyclists when Kibera said he heard honking. Boal raised his middle finger to the passing vehicles, the CHP said. The vehicles filed past, but the last motorist pulled in front of the cyclists and slowed.
“A black Tesla went by really closely but as opposed to continuing, it dove into the shoulder, off the road, directly in front of me and stopped,” Kibera said Monday. “I had to kind of dive to my left to go around him.”
Kibera said he assumed the driver of the 2014 Tesla Model S was going to yell out to the cyclists. But as Kibera tried to go around the vehicle, the driver followed and weaved back and forth to block him, he said.
The motorist then hit the brakes, police said. Kibera said he was going about 12 mph when he slammed into the back of the vehicle. He flew over the handlebars and hit the car, he said.
“I slammed right back into him,” he said. “When I was down, I saw him look through the rearview mirror to make sure I was down and blasted off.”
Kibera suffered minor injuries. His arms and shin were scraped, he said, and his shoulder, which he broke earlier this year, has been in pain since he landed on it.
Kibera said he was able to recall the vehicle’s license plate number, which was passed to officers. A motorist who witnessed the incident also provided the plate number, authorities said.
An officer en route to the home where the Tesla was registered spotted a vehicle matching the description with the same license plate number and pulled the driver over.
Donovan, whose young daughter was in the vehicle with him, was questioned by the officer, said CHP Officer Andrew Barclay.
“He was cooperative,” Barclay said. “He gave his side of the story and let us know what was going on. Based on what he had said, it was grounds for an arrest.”
Donovan was taken to Marin County Jail. He could not be reached for comment Monday.
Barclay said road-rage incidents are atypical in Marin.
“As far as California Highway Patrol goes, for incidences that have escalated to this, it’s fairly uncommon,” he said. “I can’t speak for all of the agencies in Marin — I can’t speak for all law enforcement — but not to that level.” —— (c)2015 The Marin Independent Journal (Novato, Calif.) Visit The Marin Independent Journal (Novato, Calif.) at www.marinij.com Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC. AMX-2015-11-17T00:01:00-05:00
