LAS CRUCES – Daniel Garcia had conscionable finished a blitz of studying connected Oct. 3 erstwhile helium decided to instrumentality a thrust down University Avenue.
The 22-year-old New Mexico State University pupil is moving to get into aesculapian schoolhouse and has started the arduous process of studying for entranceway exams. He rides his motorcycle to decompress. As helium acceptable retired to thrust that Monday, helium had nary thought the travel would extremity with a gunshot to the face.
Police reports and tribunal records amusement a verbal altercation betwixt Garcia and a motorist turned into a shooting and an arrest.
Though Garcia continues recovering, the carnal and affectional scars volition remain, helium said, adjacent arsenic helium hopes his communicative volition pass others.
What happened connected University Avenue
For Garcia, a emblematic thrust means leaving his location adjacent westbound University Avenue, riding eastbound to the Pam American Center, and past backmost home. It usually takes him astir an hr and acts arsenic accent alleviation for the pre-med student.
Garcia besides takes precautions portion riding successful Las Cruces. He dresses successful agleam colors and wears a agleam orangish helmet to beryllium seen by drivers. In New Mexico and successful the metropolis of Las Cruces, bicyclists are besides required to thrust connected the aforesaid broadside of the roadworthy arsenic the postulation flow.
Garcia said helium follows those rules due to the fact that he's been connected the roadworthy agelong capable to cognize that riding a motorcycle tin beryllium dangerous. Near-misses are expected, helium said.
"It happens a lot, to beryllium honest. I usually transportation a reflector connected my bike," Garcia said. "I'm perpetually looking backmost to spot however acold cars are from me. And I usually thrust connected the precise close broadside of the road, similar astir disconnected the road, due to the fact that radical conscionable don't wage attention."
As Garcia approached the University Avenue and Main Street intersection, heading east, helium said helium a achromatic Subaru astir clipped him arsenic the bicyclist and motorist traveled adjacent to each other.
When the 2 scope the intersection, Garcia says to the driver, "do you privation to get a small person adjacent time?"
"And the archetypal happening that comes retired of his mouth, he's like, 'You shouldn't beryllium successful the effing road.' And I was like, 'where other americium I expected to thrust my motorcycle then?'" Garcia said.
While stopped astatine the intersection, the concern escalates. At 1 point, Garcia said the operator threatened to sprout him aft Garcia called 911. Witnesses astatine the country told constabulary that the operator near his conveyance and tried shoving Garcia disconnected his bike.
That leads Garcia to punch the driver. As the operator stumbles back, Garcia notices him scope into his pouch and propulsion retired a gun.
"I spot him constituent the weapon astatine maine and spot the flash spell off. I perceive the gunshot, and past I consciousness my look jolt back," Garcia said. "I look and, retired of the country of my eye, I spot my feature dangling, arsenic atrocious arsenic that sounds."
From there, the operator returns to his Subaru and yet drives distant from the area. Bystanders unreserved implicit to assistance Garcia to the hospital.
The lawsuit against the driver
Police charged Christopher Dieter Gerzymisch of El Paso with 1 number of aggravated artillery resulting successful large bodily harm and 1 number of artillery aft the shooting.
In an affidavit, constabulary said Garcia picked Gerzymisch, 43, retired of a lineup. According to the affidavit, different witnesses astatine the country described seeing a antheral of akin property and physique to Gerzymisch.
Gerzymisch archetypal appeared successful tribunal connected Oct. 31 aft returning to Las Cruces to look a judge. He's not being held successful jail, which is emblematic for defendants if prosecutors take not to question pretrial detention, which they did not successful this case.
Gerzymisch is scheduled for preliminary introspection successful December, tribunal records show. The tribunal inactive needs to acceptable a proceedings day successful the case, which comes aft the preliminary examination.
Cycling scare
Today, Garcia is successful amended spirits. He said he's resumed his studies astatine NMSU and planned to sojourn household implicit Thanksgiving break. However, helium hasn't ridden his motorcycle since the shooting.
He said each clip helium passes the intersection wherever the shooting occurred, helium tenses up and remembers the convulsive altercation.
"I'm benignant of frightened to spell retired cycling again," helium said. "I consciousness similar I conscionable similar person this similar gut feeling similar you cognize similar you know, something's gonna happen."
Doctors person cleared Garcia to commencement exercising, and helium has plentifulness of studying to bash earlier his aesculapian schoolhouse introduction exams successful January. He said he's recovered different ways to stroke disconnected steam.
He said helium hopes his communicative volition caution different bicyclists and motorists successful the country and animate change.
"It happens each time and happens to a batch of people, and just, I don't know, there's not truly overmuch alteration that I've seen from the years that I've been riding," helium said.
Note: The taxable of this communicative has nary acquainted narration to the author.
Justin Garcia is a nationalist information newsman for the Las Cruces Sun-News. He tin beryllium reached at JEGarcia@lcsun-news.com.
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