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Caught On Video: San Francisco Motorcyclist Attacks Bicyclist Stopped In Bike Lane

SAN FRANCISCO (CBS SF) -- A bicyclist shared video Tuesday of a motorcyclist attacking him as he tried to keep motorized vehicles out of the bike lane on a busy San Francisco street.

Randall Dietel, who posts on Twitter as user @R27D, posted the 23-second video clip of the assault at around 12:30 p.m. Tuesday.

The clip shows a man riding his motorcycle down the designated bicycle lane on Golden Gate Avenue before pulling off to the side as he approaches Dietel.

As the motorcyclist pulls alongside him across from the Golden Gate Theatre before Golden Gate intersects with Taylor Street, Dietel is heard saying "Hi!" before the man reaches out and strikes him, knocking  his camera to the ground.

By the time he retrieves the camera, the motorcyclist can be heard riding away.

In responses to the post, Dietel noted that he called 911 after being struck, but was told that the police response time was estimated at over an hour. Dietel noted that he would be going to an SFPD station to file a police report.

KPIX 5 was able to interview Dietel about the assault. He encouraged officials to make more changes so cyclists can ride safely in San Francisco.

"I think what the city needs to be doing is focusing on making it safe for people who are eight to 80 to be able to cycle and get around in the city," said Dietel.

He also had advice for car drivers.

"Drivers need to realize that 20 miles per hour is plenty fast enough and that most of the time if you are driving in downtown San Francisco, you're on a 25 mile an hour street," Dietel explained. "There's no sense in driving 45 miles an hour to get to the next red light."

He also was able to grab two images from the video of the motorcyclist that he tweeted out.

SF motorcyclist assault on bicyclist
SF motorcyclist assault on bicyclist (Randall Dietel/Twitter)
SF motorcyclist assault on bicyclist
SF motorcyclist assault on bicyclist (Randall Dietel/Twitter)

Dietel was not injured in the incident, but he is asking for help identifying the motorcyclist. So far, San Francisco police have not commented on the incident.

The attack comes less than a week after two cyclists were killed in two separate fatal hit-and-run collisions in San Francisco last Wednesday.

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The first fatal collision happened in Golden Gate Park at 30th Avenue and JFK Drive at around 6 p.m. on Wednesday, June 22nd.

Police said a man driving a stolen white Honda was trying to pass another car and smashed into a woman in her 40s riding a bike.

The woman was taken away in an ambulance, but later died of her injuries. The car was found a short time later abandoned on equestrian way.

The hit-and-run driver is still on the loose.

As police were still at that scene, a second fatal crash happened in SoMa near Seventh and Howard streets at around 8:30 p.m.

Police said the driver ran a red light before hitting a woman in her 20s riding a bicycle.

The driver was arrested for vehicular manslaughter and felony hit and run. On Thursday afternoon, he was identified as Farrukh Mushtaq, a 32 year-old male San Francisco resident.

Mushtaq was booked into San Francisco County Jail on the charges of felony hit and run and vehicular manslaughter with gross negligence. Police said impairment does not appear to be a factor in this case.

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