Jeep Driver Gets Misdemeanor After Trying to Hit a Cyclist Twice

A Texas driver who swerved his Jeep Wrangler into the path of a cyclist is facing criminal charges. The 50-year-old Jeep driver was charged with a Class B misdemeanor for reckless driving; it only took Deer Park Police (just outside of Houston) 75 days to charge the driver, according to The Houston Chronicle. And despite the cyclist giving the police video footage of the incident, police initially claimed it was a matter of “he said, she said.”

On April 13, 50-year-old Robert Aaron Glenn pulled his white Jeep Wrangler (JK) to the side of a bicyclist riding home from work. The cyclist told Chron the ensuing fit of road rage came after Glenn approached, unprompted, and started yelling obscenities:

I see this vehicle pull up to my side, and I hear ‘hey f—got’—super aggressive,” […] “I don’t know if you can hear it in the video very well, but you could just feel the hatred coming off of this person … I thought he was getting out. I stopped and reached into my pocket. I carry Mace on me just in case something like this happens. He took off yelling, like ‘f—k you,’ stuff like that. Then he goes, ‘I hope you die.’

Jeep driver swerves wrong-way into path of bicyclist near Houston

You can see this all play out in the video above. Glenn sped away in the Jeep Wrangler, but then made a U-turn and drove toward the cyclist again. Glenn swerved the Wrangler directly into the path of the cyclist, which put the Jeep in the way of oncoming traffic. Several drivers honked at Glenn and his Jeep returned to its lane, but only after just missing the bicyclist. The cyclist said he believed the two-ton Wrangler would run him over, and has since declined to identify himself out of fear for his safety.

When Glenn was gone, the cyclist called police and handed them the video footage. Investigators reportedly spoke to the cyclist and Jeep driver later on. Glenn told police he was “mad the cyclist was on the roadway.” And the police closed the case two days later, citing documentation of the incident and its details, which were not enough to warrant a formal investigation. Sgt. Ryan Coats, with Deer Park Police, said “it was kind of a ‘he said, she said’ thing.”

The Harris County District Attorney reviewed the case, however, and has now charged Glenn with reckless driving. Since the cyclist declined to press charges, the state of Texas is listed as victim in the case. The charges amount to a Class B misdemeanor, and a judge has asked Glenn to appear in court. Meaning, police will neither arrest, nor take Glenn into custody in handcuffs. If convicted, Glenn could spend up to 30 days in jail and be fined up to $200.