Edwin Mieses: Family Of Paralyzed Biker Blames SUV Driver

Edwin Mieses was paralyzed when he and a gang of bikers surrounded a family trapped in an SUV, forcing the driver to plow his way through a crowd to escape.

Now, the family of the biker say they think the man driving the SUV is at fault for the incident, and they want him to pay.

The incident happened this weekend during an impromptu motorcycle event in Manhattan and was all caught on tape. A helmet camera worn by one of the riders showed the group of bikers as they rode down a highway, passing cars on all sides and beyond the shoulder.

At one point, the bikers swarmed around the Range Rover, with one of the bikers cutting in front and slamming on his brakes. The man driving the SUV, identified as 33-year-old Alexian Lien, hit the rider who forced him to stop and knocked the man over. A number of motorcycle riders then surrounded the car, and some of them began to damage the SUV.

At that point, Lien accelerated to escape the mob, driving over the motorcycles stopped in front of his car. During his escape, Lien ran over biker Edwin Mieses, leaving him with severe injuries.

The video continued to show the bikers chasing Lien through Manhattan streets, all while his wife and infant daughter were in the car, and when he was forced to stop, they attacked the car. While the video cut out there, the bikers went on to beat Lien, leaving him with bruises and lacerations on his face.

But as the chase continued, Edwin Mieses was left on the highway with broken ribs and a broken spine. His family said he will be paralyzed for life.

His wife Dayana said Edwin was only trying to help his friend, the one who sparked the incident by forcing the SUV to stop. She implored people to treat her husband as a victim, not as a criminal.

Dayana added that the SUV driver should never have tried to leave.

“He should have just stopped,” she said.

She said Lien is responsible for his actions.

“That man paralyzed my husband,” Mieses said. “He needs to pay for what he did.”

Police have arrested one person in the incident, 28-year-old Christopher Cruz. He has been charged with a number of counts, including endangering the welfare of a child and unlawful imprisonment. Police have offered a $2,000 reward for information that could identify two other people who assaulted Lien, and they said one has already turned himself in.

They have not said if Edwin Mieses is considered a suspect.