They are hoping to pay for expenses not covered by Jensen’s insurance and an estimated two weeks of lost wages.
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Minneapolis police spokesman John Elder told WCCO and the Star Tribune that around 5:30 p.m. two people were struck with concrete-type material “within seconds of each other” in south Minneapolis.
Police said they have confirmed three similar but widely scattered attacks within a short period Friday, starting in southeast Minneapolis and ending with Jensen’s injury.
One cyclist, Mackenzie Jensen of south Minneapolis, was seriously injured.
Mothers worry, but Kristin Jensen can’t wrap her mind around the senseless and random act of violence her son couldn’t have seen coming. He wasn’t doing anything wrong when police say a man drove by in a white Bronco, hurling a concrete chunk the size of a brick at Mackenzie’s head. The driver allegedly was wearing a white glove when he threw the bricks.
Police say bicyclists should take “routine safety precautions,” although it’s not clear how a cyclist is supposed to avoid someone throwing cinder blocks from SUVs other than not bicycling at all. “They’re not going to succumb to fear”. She said Jensen suffered five fractures to his face, near his cheekbone, and now has his jaw wired shut. He has had one surgery to fix the damage, and will have another later this week.
A cyclist in Minneapolis never saw what hit him, but a witness said it was a vicious attack.
The city’s Bicycle Advisory Committee is more concerned about incidents where vehicles are used to crowd or intimidate cyclists, said Nick Mason, the panel’s chairman.
As Nina Moini reports, it’s not the only incident of this kind that police are investigating. A subcommittee will discuss enforcement issues again with police on Thursday.
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“How could somebody do this to another human being, how could they live with themselves”, she said. “It makes you proud to be from the Twin Cities”.
