Alleged bike-rage incident pits Byron Nix against Herbert Hoover's grandson
For his part, Hoover says the behavior of cyclists on this particular road and throughout the area has been an ongoing concern for residents. He also stresses that he never meant to hit Nix.
"We try to avoid them," says Hoover, a retired engineer and turns 71 today. "If you're anywhere close to being responsible on your bicycle, that would never happen."
Hoover says the tension between cyclists and drivers is common, but it's a rare that collisions actually occur. 
Andrew Hoover, in background.
"We face this situation regularly, and we honk for two reasons -- to let them know we are coming, and the other is to...indicate some displeasure with the way they are riding," says Hoover, who has been displaced to an apartment in Denver after his house burned down and was returning to the site of his burned-down home at the time of the crash.
"That is not unique to me. What is unique to me is that somehow the two of us collided," he says.
Hoover says he feels bad that this happened and did not mean to come off as unsympathetic in any way after the collision.
"I was sort of surprised and shocked and taken aback," he says. "I understood that the best thing to do was to be quiet."
Hoover's bumper was damaged in the collision because of the way it got caught on Nix's bike.
Hoover, who says he has never collided with a bike before, doesn't recall talking directly to the cyclists as he got closer to them, but notes that it all happened quickly. "I wish I knew exactly [what happened]. I wish we weren't having this conversation. It's a very sad thing." 
Screenshot of Andrew Hoover from KDVR interview, after his house burned down in March of 2012.
He says that for a long time, neighbors have been worried about cyclists who seem to be reckless in their riding.
"This was bound to happen," he says, adding that he and his neighbors have asked for more bike lanes and generally feel the road in question isn't safe for cyclists. "I'm just terribly sorry that it was me.... It shocks and dismays me."
He continues, "From my point of view, it was a damn unfortunate accident," but adds, "As a practical matter, I was given a citation, and I believe that the bicyclist should've been given a citation."
Josh Lewis, a Colorado State Patrol spokesman, confirms only Hoover was cited in the accident. He says the incident was covered as a crash and that there has been no determination it was intentional on the part of the driver -- but if it was later determined as such, charges could be upgraded to assault.
At this point, there is no evidence to suggest that it was "pre-mediated," he says, adding, "The cyclist was obeying all laws."
Nix says that he and his cycling team are always very respectful and careful on the road and that, for the most part, cars and bikes do get along. 
The wheel of Nix's bike after the crash.
In Denver, crashes between bikes and cars are on the rise, and police reports say that the fault lies with the drivers slightly more often than the cyclists.
"All we are asking is that if you see bikes and they are not single file, tap twice on the horn...to let us know you are there and give us a chance to get to the side of the road," says Nix, who lives in Centennial and runs a business called Byron's Painting Company when he is not cycling. "I'm not gonna give up on riding, but I am gonna think twice when I hear a car."
Continue for more photos from the scene of the accident.
Email to Friend
Write to Editor
Print Article
