A 33-year-old Durango man was arrested on suspicion of felony menacing Tuesday after a road rage altercation with a cyclist, according to the Durango Police Department.
Cmdr. Ray Shupe said a cyclist on Tuesday afternoon was stopped in the southbound lane of East Second Avenue near the intersection of Eighth Street. Because of the bump-outs at Steamworks Brewing Co., the cyclist was forced from the side of the road into the lane of traffic.
“The shoulder was blocked by the bump-out,” he said.
A driver behind the cyclist started yelling at the cyclist to “get the (expletive) out of the way,” Shupe said, and the altercation escalated. Shupe said the driver threatened to kill and run the cyclist over.
The driver, identified as Joshua David Angle, then accelerated the vehicle and hit the cyclist with a side-view mirror, according to investigators.
The cyclist took off west on Eighth Street and turned north on Main Avenue, going into an alleyway off Main Avenue to the back entrance of his place of work at Mountain Bike Specialists, in the 900 block of Main Avenue.
Angle chased the cyclist the entire way, Shupe said.
Once at Mountain Bike Specialists, the cyclist went into the back door and locked the door. Angle got out of his vehicle and was yelling at the cyclist, as well as employees, for the cyclist to come out, “creating a huge scene,” Shupe said.
Shupe said Angle is a concealed weapon holder, and had a gun in his holster on his hip.
“He never took the gun out, but it was definitely clearly visible,” Shupe said.
Officers got the call at around 12:30 p.m. Angle was arrested on suspicion of menacing, a Class 5 felony, for using his vehicle to injure the cyclist and making threats, Shupe said.
Angle, for his part, told investigators the cyclist punched and broke his mirror, which spurred the altercation. No injuries were found on the cyclist’s hands, however, Shupe said.
Witnesses at and around Steamworks did not see who broke the mirror, only becoming aware of the situation after the two men started yelling at each other, Shupe said. Video surveillance also did not capture the incident.
No injuries from being hit by the car mirror were seen on the cyclist, though he was wearing a bulky jacket, Shupe said.
Angle was taken to the La Plata County Jail and has since posted bail.
jromeo@durangoherald.com
