Palo Alto Police: Driver spits at cyclist, strikes victim in apparent hate crime

PALO ALTO – Police in Palo Alto have launched a hate crime investigation after a cyclist said he was attacked by a driver in the city’s downtown last week.

Around 5:30 p.m. Thursday, officers were called to the area of University Avenue and Webster Street on reports of an injury hit-and-run collision involving the cyclist.

According to a preliminary investigation, the victim was riding eastbound on University Avenue when he passed an uninvolved vehicle trying to park. Following the maneuver, a suspect in a pickup truck began to yell at the victim and the two began to argue.

The driver then called the victim, who is Black, a racial epithet and spat at him. Police said the driver then reached out to grab the cyclist’s arm and drove his pickup into the side of the victim’s bicycle, causing him to fall into the ground.

Before leaving the scene, the driver ran over the bicycle.

According to the victim, the suspect was last seen driving northbound on Webster Street and east on Lytton Avenue, before turning back onto eastbound University Avenue.

Police said the victim suffered a small laceration to his leg and was treated at the scene. The bicycle sustained minor damage.

The suspect is described as a man in his 30s with blonde hair wearing a construction vest. He was driving what was described as a silver Toyota pickup.

Detectives said Monday that they are working on a sketch of the suspect.

Anyone who may have witnessed this incident is asked to call Palo Alto Police at 650-329-2413. Tips can also be given anonymously by emailing [email protected] or by texting or leaving a voicemail at 650-383-8984.