Victim of bike path collision alleges incident was targeted

By Ethan Hartley
Posted 12/6/23

Mich Myette is still searching for justice 18 months after being struck on the bike path in Warren last summer.

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Victim of bike path collision alleges incident was targeted

Posted

Mich Myette still has some numbness around his mouth and chin — a physical reminder of the incident that occurred last June on the East Bay Bike Path in Warren where he and another man collided near Bridge Street that resulted in gruesome damage and his jaw being wired shut for two months.

But aside from the physical remnants, the psychological remnants of the brutal collision continue to loom even larger in his brain every day.

“I can still picture it really clearly,” he said during an interview on Monday afternoon. “I went to my left and I remember seeing him move to my left, and then to the right…As far as I remember he wasn’t going that fast, he seemed like was just trying to target me more than anything. I know it was intentional. I did everything I could to move away from the guy and no matter what direction I went in, he went in my direction.”

Myette said he is still harboring anger of how the crash was handled after the fact, including how Warren Police allegedly did not photograph the suspect’s bike, and how the suspect provided a false name and address to the responding officers, which was only discovered later. A year and a half later, there has been no new information leading to the identification of the suspect, and no one has come forward.

Lt. Christopher Perreault of the Warren Police Department confirmed Tuesday morning that there was no new information to share regarding the incident.

Myette said on Monday that in the initial wake of the incident, he was advised to not broadcast his belief that he had been targeted by the suspect who he collided with, in the hopes that being more diplomatic about it would provide a better chance for the man to come forward and admit what had happened.

But nearly 18 months and around $100,000 of hospital bills later, that hasn’t happened, which prompted him to come forward this with his original, instinctual allegation.

“I’ve been riding long enough to know that it wasn’t something that was accidental,” he said. “He kept his face away from me after it happened and walked away to the other side of the path. He didn’t check on me. What was his reasoning for avoiding me? If he didn’t have something to hide, he would have approached me. I don’t want to give up on trying to find this guy.”

Myette reiterated his concern that e-bikes — which he was certain the suspect was using, but could not be confirmed due to a photograph not being taken at the scene — will cause similar incidents in the future on the bike path.

“I live on the bike path, and it’s just a matter of time before a child is going to get seriously injured, or an adult, because of the speeds that people are going,” he said. “I can’t imagine why they’re still allowing e-bikes on the bike path.”

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