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© VPCA pack of motorcyclists approach an SUV in Manhattan on Sept. 29 before smashing in the window.
One biker was struck by the car and may be paralyzed for life

A 28-year-old motorcyclist was charged Wednesday with reckless driving in an encounter with the driver of an SUV who was later beaten after a high-speed chase by dozens of bikers that was captured on videotape.

Christopher Cruz, of Passaic, N.J., was also charged with unlawful imprisonment. His attorney, H. Benjamin Perez, said Cruz denied all the allegations. "He will come back to fight this case and clear his name," he said.

Cruz has had previous criminal cases in New Jersey including one in which he pleaded guilty to theft, the Associated Press reports.

A second suspect, Allen Edwards, 42, surrendered to police on Tuesday but was released on Wednesday pending further investigation.


The altercation Sunday also left a biker seriously injured, and possibly paralyzed for life, when the panicked driver plowed through some of the 20 or 30 motorcyclists who had surrounded his car.

Police are looking for a third biker shown on the video smashing the SUV's window with his helmet. The video was shot from a helmet cam worn by one of the 20 or 30 bikers who had gathered for a road rally and was posted anonymously on YouTube.

The injured biker, Edwin Mieses Jr., 26, of Lawrence, Mass., suffered broken legs and spine injuries, his wife, Dayana Mieses, said outside a New York hospital.

"There's no hope for his back," she said. "They crushed his spine. They broke it in two different places, so he will be forever, forever paralyzed."

The driver of the SUV, Alexian Lien, who was pulled from his car and beaten, was treated for knife lacerations to his back and face, police said. His wife and 2-year-old daughter, who were in the car during the ordeal, were not injured.

The video shows the swarm of bikers converging on Lien's car at several points after he apparently clipped one that had pulled in front of his Range Roger.

It shows bikers beating on the side of the car and apparently slicing the tires. It was during one of the stops that Lien suddenly accelerates his car, plowing into several bikers, including Mieses.

The video, which has been seen by millions on YouTube, sparked strong emotions on all sides, including friends and family of the injured biker. A Facebook page titled "Justice for Jay Meezee," which refers to the biker's nickname, says he had gotten off his motorcycle to help one of the other bikers when he was struck by the car.

"He was on the ground attending to an injured person and was run over like an animal!!!!" the posting on the page reads.

Lien, the driver of the SUV, has not been charged, although New York City Police Commissioner Raymond Kelly said the incident is still under investigation.

"Well, it depends on what the circumstances are," Kelly said. "It depends on whether or not your vehicle is being attacked, whether or not you think you're being attacked, whether or not your wife and child's in the car. You have to look at the totality of the circumstances, and that's what we're doing."