A 16-year-old in a Ford F-350 Super Duty allegedly hit six cyclists during an incident over the weekend in Waller, Texas. Surprisingly, the teenager wasn’t actually arrested or detained, although local police have confirmed that they are under investigation.
According to witnesses, the driver had been ‘rolling coal’; an American trend among diesel-powered trucks where they try to produce as much smoke as possible.
In this case, it’s reported that the driver was trying to blow as many fumes at the cyclists as possible; getting close to them in the process.
Two of the cyclists had to be air-lifted to hospital, each having accumulated shoulder, neck and back injuries. KRPC reports that one cyclist is being treated for head trauma.
A GoFundMe page has already been created for those facing extensive recoveries. Being air-lifted to a hospital in the US can cost up to US$40,000.
“I thought someone was dead. I heard a lot of crunching. I heard brakes. Tires screeching. People screaming,” one witness, cyclist Chase Ferrell, told KRPC.
“The reason he couldn’t stop is because he was accelerating to blow more diesel fuel on these cyclists. He ended up hitting 3 people before his brakes even started.
“I don’t understand, if it was me who had struck someone else, I would be in jail. I don’t understand how it’s come to this point where there are no consequences this far.”
The cyclists had been training for a local ironman event in a large group, having already cycled some 75 miles. Cyclists are a known target for those rolling coal in the area.
