Finally, ten months after the crime, the driver who assaulted cyclist Frank Gaul on his way to work and left him seriously injured on the road was arrested. Over eight hundred of you signed our petition urging the California Highway Patrol to take this incident seriously.
Eighteen-year-old Aydehn Presler has been charged with two felonies, hit and run and assault with a deadly weapon. What we find particularly appalling is that apparently he had multiple passengers who witnessed the assault AND NONE OF THEM DID ANYTHING. We don’t know how exactly the CHP finally got the information – did the group circulate the story via social media and someone else ratted them out? Were they more concerned about getting busted than they are about having caused injury to another human being? Did one of them finally grow a conscience and report it? Do people really see cyclists as something less than human, that they can just run over and leave? Apparently so, as rates of hit-and-run have been steadily increasing, with 64% of hit-and-run fatalities consisting of pedestrians and cyclists. While reliable data is unavailable, recent reports suggest that intentional vehicular assault against cyclists is also increasing.
Presler’s attorney will present his plea in Sonoma Superior Courtroom 9 at 8:30 on Tuesday May 27. We will attend in support of Gaul and his family, and will keep our community updated on the case.
Special thanks to Press Democrat reporter Austin Murphy for his coverage.