Central Saanich police have arrested the cyclist at the centre of a violent road-rage incident recorded in a video that was widely shared.
A 31-year-old Central Saanich man is facing charges of assault and mischief for allegedly kicking a car and lunging at the driver during an altercation Tuesday.
The driver, Steve Bengal, captured video of the cyclist’s profanity-laced attack, in which the cyclist can be seen kicking the door panel, then lunging in the car toward the driver.
Bengal said he was driving on Oldfield Road Tuesday afternoon when he honked at the cyclist for cutting in front of him without signalling.
Bengal eventually passed the cyclist and was stopped in the left-turn lane at Keating Cross Road and Oldfield Road when he could see the cyclist coming up in his rearview mirror.
The cyclist threw down his bike and approached the car, which is when Bengal started recording with his cellphone camera.
“I certainly didn’t expect him to jump off his bike and kick my car,” said Bengal, a 47-year-old from North Saanich who works in construction.
Bengal said he is recovering from two broken ribs and a collapsed lung from a motorbike crash, so he couldn’t properly defend himself when the cyclist reached into his car. The cyclist first tried to grab the phone. Then, Bengal said, the cyclist tried to strike him with a closed fist, while on his third reach, he tore out the centre console in his car.
The cyclist then sped off and Bengal followed him while talking to a police dispatcher to give his location. The two had another altercation on Maber Road during which the cyclist kicked off the driver-side mirror. The police dispatcher told Bengal to stop following the cyclist and wait for police to arrive.
Bengal said his 2015 Camaro sustained about $5,000 worth of damage. “There’s two things in life you don’t mess with: my mom and my car,” he said.
Central Saanich police spokesman Cpl. Dan Cottingham said the cellphone video was crucial to identifying the cyclist and making an arrest. “In this case, it was very important — otherwise we likely would not have identified the cyclist,” Cottingham said. “The video captured a good image of him, where we were able to identify him from that.”
The video has been widely viewed on social media and one driver commented that she had a similar altercation with the same cyclist on Monday.
Bengal said that doesn’t surprise him “because of the fact that I didn’t do anything wrong, so I figured this is probably not his first [incident] and it’s not his last.”
The cyclist has been released on a promise to appear in court on Oct. 25. His identity has not been released, as charges have not been approved by Crown counsel. He has been ordered not to have any contact with the victim.
