Video shows Wisconsin lawmaker hitting cyclist
Video taken from inside a city bus shows state Rep. Fred Clark running a red light near the state Capitol and violently smashing into a bicyclist.
Clark, a freshman Democrat from Baraboo, was ticketed by Madison police for running a red light on Aug. 18. The video, released this week by Madison Metro, shows the cyclist riding into the intersection two blocks from the Capitol after the light turned green. About two and a half seconds later, Clark enters the intersection in an SUV and slams into the biker.
Clark can be seen exiting his vehicle, the crumpled bike behind his rear passenger side wheel.
Clark, 50, did not immediately return a message left at his home seeking comment Tuesday.
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A Madison police report said Clark told an officer at the scene, "I ran a red light. I was just not paying attention." The report said drugs and alcohol were not a factor in the accident.
Madison city attorney Mike May said in an e-mail he needed to discuss whether he would pursue additional charges with his lead prosecutor but that person was out of the office.
The cyclist, identified in the police report as 56-year-old Richard Rideout, did not immediately return a message left at his home or office. The report said he was taken to the hospital for non-life-threatening back and lung injuries.
The driver of the bus with the camera that caught the accident provided police with a witness account of the accident. The driver, John Annen, said the cyclist's view of Clark's oncoming vehicle was completely blocked by the bus. The bus was in the middle lane and the bike entered the intersection from the far right lane. Clark approached from the left of the bus and broadsided the biker.
Online court records show that Clark was issued a $160.50 ticket in 2006 for speeding 11 to 15 miles above the limit in Baraboo. In 2007, Clark was ticketed $249 for not registering his vehicle, the online database showed.
Clark's initial appearance on the speeding ticket is set for Sept. 18.
The video was first obtained by Madison station WKOW-TV.