Bike rider, driver mix it up in wild road rage ride

The Portland Tribune, Jul 14, 2008, Updated Oct 30, 2009

Courtesy of Fox 12 News

A photo from a video shows bike rider Jason S. Rehnberg hanging onto the windshield wipers of a Ford Escort during a road rage confrontation Sunday night on Southeast 58th Avenue. A witness shot the video. The Escort driver, James Millican, was arrested in the incident.

Talk about a wild ride. A road rage incident Sunday evening involving a bicyclist and a car, in which the bike rider ended up on the hood of a car speeding along a Southeast Portland street, led to the driver’s arrest on an assault charge.

Portland police arrested 21-year-old James F. Millican at 7:11 p.m. and charged him with second-degree attempted assault, driving while under the influence of intoxicants, third-degree criminal mischief and reckless driving.

It was the second high profile road rage incident involving a driver and a bicyclist in the past week. On Wednesday, July 9, a 31-year-old bicyclist got into a fight with a car driver who chastised him for improper riding. The bike rider allegedly threw his bicycle at the car and hit the driver with it while a crowd gathered at a Southeast Portland intersection.

In that case, the bike rider, Steven McAtee, was arrested and charged with assault, criminal mischief, disorderly conduct and being under the influence of intoxicants.

In Sunday’s incident, police said that early in the evening 37-year-old Jason S. Rehnberg was riding a bicycle near Southeast 58th Avenue and Washington Street when a Ford Escort driven by Millican drove past. Rehnberg shouted (using some profanities) at the Escort to slow down, and the driver took offense at the remarks, stopped the car and began chasing him.

Rehnberg rode away into a neighborhood and waited for several minutes before heading back in the same direction. A short time later, he saw the Escort driving on the street ahead of him.

Witnesses told police that the Escort backed up toward the bicyclist, forcing Rehnberg to jump off the bike and out of the way. The bike was damaged in the collision.

When Rehnberg and two witnesses stood in front of the Escort trying to write down the license plate number, the Escort sped toward them. The witnesses were able to jump to safety, but Rehnberg ended up on the hood of the Escort.

With the Rehnberg hanging on to the car’s windshield wipers, the Escort sped down 58th Avenue. When the Escort reached Southeast 60th Avenue, the driver slowed enough for Rehnberg to get off the car.

A witness videotaped the wild ride, but the tape was seized as evidence and cannot be released without the district attorney’s approval.

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