A former emergency room doctor who deliberately braked so that two bicyclists rammed into his car was sentenced on Friday in a case that sparked international interest among cyclists.
Christopher Thomas Thompson, 60, was sentenced to five years in state prison and had been jailed since his November conviction on charges of assault with a deadly weapon, battery with serious bodily injury, reckless driving and mayhem.
The case prompted a deluge of letters and e-mails.
“Here in the UK, the cycling community has a saying that, ‘If you want to harm or kill someone, a motor vehicle is the weapon of choice,’” wrote Tony Raven, of Cambridge, England.
The letters were submitted to the court by the prosecutor.
“It is time that motorists learn that they must share the road with people on bicycles and that the courts will view assaults on cyclists by motorists as seriously as other assaults with deadly weapons,” Deputy District Attorney Mary Hanlon Stone wrote in court papers.
Judge Scott Millington said he did not take into account the letters and e-mails from bicyclists.
However, the judge said he believed Thompson had not shown remorse during the case. Prosecutors say Thompson deliberately hit his brakes, causing the bicyclists to hit the back of his Infiniti sedan on July 4, 2008.
One rider smashed through the back window, breaking his nose and front teeth. The other separated his shoulder.
A police officer testified that Thompson said he hit the brakes to “teach them a lesson.”
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