LOS ANGELES (AP) — A Los Angeles doctor was sentenced Friday to five years in prison for running down two bicyclists in a road rage assault.
Sixty-year-old Christopher Thompson was earlier convicted of mayhem, assault with a deadly weapon and other charges for the assault on July 4, 2008.
Prosecutors say he had argued with the cyclists before slamming on his brakes in front of them in Brentwood’s Mandeville Canyon. One cyclist who went through the car window suffered broken teeth, cuts and had to have his nose reattached.
Thompson testified that he and other residents were upset that some cyclists rode alongside each other on the narrow street.
The court has been deluged with letters from cyclists saying a harsh sentence would send a strong message to motorists.
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LOS ANGELES (AP) — A former Los Angeles doctor is being sentenced for running down two bicyclists in a road rage assault.
Prosecutors want Christopher Thompson ordered to prison for eight years at his sentencing Friday morning. They say he argued with the cyclists July 4, 2008, before slamming on his brakes in front of them. One cyclist who went through the car window suffered broken teeth, cuts and had to have his nose reattached.
The 60-year-old former emergency room physician has been in jail since jurors convicted him of mayhem, assault with a deadly weapon and other charges in November.
The court has been deluged with letters from cyclists saying a harsh sentence would send a strong message to hostile motorists.