Providence East Siders Worried About ATV, Motorbike Incident
Wednesday, July 19, 2017
A large group of motorbike and ATV riders on the East Side of Providence - including some who threatened a young mother - FILE PHOTO YouTube
"I don't feel that this was a regular Sunday driving type of guys. It seemed like they were out to cause trouble," said Providence resident Cristina Moody, who said she was confronted by several of the drivers -- and called the police.
Others noticed the large group riding in the residential area on Sunday.
GET THE LATEST BREAKING NEWS HERE -- SIGN UP FOR GOLOCAL FREE DAILY EBLAST"So I'm sure I'm not the only one to have noticed a large group (maybe 30?) of motorcycles and ATVs traveling up (north) on Wayland Ave at about 3:30, turning west somewhere north of President," wrote Spencer Dickinson on social media.
In May, the City Council approved an ordinance allowing police to seize and potentially destroy ATVs stopped on city streets, after a 2015 ordinance allowed the city to fine drivers and force temporary forfeit of such vehicles. The updated measure came after an incident on Easter Weekend that saw dirt bikes and ATVs swarm a playground on Aleppo Street forcing people to flee the park.
Moody said that she called the police when she was surrounded this past weekend -- but fled the scene in fear before waiting for law enforcement to arrive.
City of Providence Public Safety Public Information Officer Lindsay Lague did not respond to request for how many calls were made to police on Sunday regarding the bikes -- or how they responded.
Threatening Bike Encounter
Moody, who posted her own account to social media, spoke with GoLocal following the incident.
"I was driving close to Wayland [Square], when all of a sudden there was a huge crowed of bikes that came out of nowhere," said Moody. "They were in the left lane as I was in the right. There were all different kinds -- four-wheelers, those real tall dirt bike ones, as well as the street racing kind."
"So I was going to turn onto the Square. They were to my left, but they were crossing me as I was trying to turn. It was a dangerous turn for them, and I could have hit them if I wasn't cautious," said Moody. "So they started to put their breaks on deliberately in front of me, so at this moment, they kept going and going -- and there were tons of them. I know some people said 25 or 30, but I saw close to 50."
Moody, who had her children in her car with her, said she started to feel threatened.
"I'm frantic. There's tons just crowding around, I'm beeping the horn because of the hold up, and I'm on the phone with the police now," said Moody. "When I was able to get away I took a left on Laurel [Avenue]. There were a bunch of bikes that went another way, but two or three stayed and cornered me. A tall [man] on a dirt bike was next to my window as I was on the phone. I couldn't tell the police even where I was exactly, with one next to me, one in front of the car. What if they pulled out a gun?"
"What was I to do in this situation? He was yelling at me and making scary faces. I had my two-year old and one-year old in the car. I was trapped," said Moody. "Eventually they went -- and the police finally said they'd send someone over, but I was scared and I drove away from that area. I went down a side road. I was shaking -- I needed to stop and calm down."
Moody said she is still distraught following what had taken place.
"Every time I hear a bike, I imagine them near my house -- did they get my plate? Were they coming to find me? I'm really shaken by it," said Moody. "How is the city going to protect us from these bikers, that I believe are terrorizing the neighborhood? In the case of them forcing cars to stop on the side of the road, and blocking them -- isn't that terror?"
"It didn't seem like they were just going out for a 'ride'," said Moody. "They were doing this deliberately in a residential neighborhood."
