Oct. 3, 2014 — The St. Louis County Police Department has Sunset Hills Mayor Mark Furrer with 2 felonies in connection with allegations that he intentionally ran a bicyclist off the road with his car.
Furrer was charged with one count of second-degree assault and one count of first-degree property damage, according to reports in the Call online newspaper. Both charges are felonies.
Furrer’s attorney is quoted: “We will vigorously defend this case, we will take it to trial, and we expect to win. While Mark would like to give a statement, we have advised him to wait until the trial.”
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Aug. 1, 2014 — Accusations are flying back and forth in the St. Louis suburb of Sunset Hills, Missouri, where the mayor is accused of sideswiping a cyclist after a rolling argument.
Mayor Mark Furrer
No charges were filed by local police, and an outside law enforcement agency is conducting an investigation.
Cyclist Randy Murdick writes on this Facebook page that he was riding down the road when a Mercedes convertible comes up alongside him, and the driver starts yelling, “Get off my roads, get off my roads.”
Murdick admits that he yelled back at the motorist, both exchanging profanities.
“After what seemed like ten seconds of this he whips his car to the right hitting me on the left side of my body knocking the bike out from under me. My left arm hooked the back of the passenger door and he gunned it flinging me off onto the road. This all happened around 20mph.”
A truck driver heading the opposite direction saw the whole thing, and wheeled around and chased down the driver.
Cyclist Randy Murdick
Murdick went to the hospital where he was treated for a torn Achilles tendon and bruises, according to the St. Louis Post Dispatch. The cyclist and the attorney returned to the Sunset Hills Police Department to make sure charges would be filed, and they learned it was the town’s mayor — Mark Furrer — who was behind the wheel of the red 1991 Mercedes 300SL convertible.
Furrer told the Post-Dispatch that he began yelling after the cyclist ran a stop sign, which Murdick denies.
The mayor continues: “He caught me off guard, frankly. Because I would have expected him to stop. He came around the corner at a pretty good clip on some fancy bike. Frankly, it’s my mistake, I shouldn’t have engaged him and I tell everybody I know, never engage them.”
Furrer claims that the cyclist grabbed onto car, then tumbled off. Furrer said he didn’t swerve or speed up, and he turned the car around at the first opportunity.
The crash happened on Tuesday afternoon, and the Sunset Hills police said they might have a report by Friday. AP reports that the St. Louis County police are now taking over the investigation.
Twitter….
Seattle Bike Blog @LoveofCycling @BikingBis Same county that doesn’t install bike lanes because few people bike (b/c it isn’t safe) http://streetsblog.net/2011/11/23/st-louis-county-we-dont-build-bike-lanes-because-no-one-bikes/ …
Love of Cycling @seabikeblog @BikingBis “Get off my road” he says? He must think he owns the road.
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Furrer’s attitude (“get off my roads”) is unfortunately quite common in Missouri and StL County.
Elected officials have a responsibility to serve as role models and the police as the first line of law enforcement. Clearly both failed. These problems are too common in the “Show Me State”.
Appointed cycling advocates in the region are strong supporters of vehicular cycling and against separated-protected bike lanes which largely explains why wannabe cyclists remain auto drivers.
Author
Agreed. At the least this mayor is setting a bad example. At the worst, he committed a felony.
Gene, many “avid cyclists” in MO/StL County don’t believe in written laws such as using the full lane when our roads are 4+ lanes.
Here’s just one (nospam) to read at:
http://blogs.riverfronttimes.com/dailyrft/2014/07/sunset_hills_mayor_mark_furrer_accused_of_intentionally_striking_cyclist.php
“The laws that say we’re allowed to ride on the street and take up an entire lane… are just ridiculous. Cyclists who don’t ride near the edge of the road create HUGE problems…impeding traffic on a public road is inconsiderate to the point of criminal… there’s absolutely no excuse for it.”
The media uses these illogical rants to show how dedicated cyclists realize that too many cyclists care little about their own safety and thus should be kept off the roads.
All politicians are ego maniacs and criminals. They have to be a criminal to get into office. All you have to do is read his countenance to see what a professional liar he is.