This week, a physical altercation occurred near the 'Rīga Plaza' shopping center between two road users. A bicycle courier and a 'Volvo' driver could not share the road. As the participants failed to resolve the situation with words, fists and feet were used.
A car driver and a bicycle courier were captured on video during a physical confrontation. The exchange of blows was accompanied by attempts from a passenger in the 'Volvo', who was positioned between the men, to calm the heated minds, reports the show Degpunktā (TV3).
After the conflict, the driver returned to his 'Volvo', while the courier picked up and moved his bicycle aside — the situation did not escalate beyond a few punches and shoves.
How did the tense situation begin and develop? The bicycle courier Juris shared his account with the show "Degpunktā". Journalists met him at the police station, as his relatives convinced him to file a report with the police.
The man explained that he stopped in the middle of the intersection during rush hour to make a left turn. He did not have to wait long — the driver behind him, who could not proceed, made his presence known.
"This 'specimen' started honking. My first thought was quite neutral — maybe something fell out. Usually, I would have turned, swerved, and left. But I stopped, and at the moment I turned, I saw that it was no longer a neutral signal," the bicycle courier describes the incident.
As he approached, the 'Volvo' driver asked Juris why he was standing in the middle of the road. Juris replied that he was about to make a turn: "He was not satisfied with my explanation. Words started flying that probably shouldn’t be said on television… And then everything began to escalate… Theoretically, he was already leaving, and it seemed like there would be peace. But he needed to show something… He started kicking my bicycle."
The kick to Juris's bicycle crossed a personal boundary. The courier responded to the provocation with a shove, after which an improvised kickboxing match unfolded near the 'Rīga Plaza' parking lot. After the scuffle, Juris experienced a slight shock. Once it passed, he needed to check if he had been injured.
"My hands weren’t shaking, but this is not an everyday situation, and there’s a kind of excitement. You don’t understand right away… (..) Fortunately, there was nothing serious. Visually, it looked impressive, but there were no injuries," Juris says.
The package also remained unharmed. Juris notes that in his profession, he often hears dissatisfied honks from drivers, but he faced such a confrontation for the first time. His colleagues also had not encountered anything similar. The courier admits that he might have reacted differently, but emphasizes that the 'Volvo' driver should not have initiated the conflict or exited the vehicle at all.
"Of course, we both reacted to each other in some way, but it seems to me that such situations shouldn’t be resolved this way. Whoever was truly at fault… It seemed to me that there were no guilty parties there. You can’t react like that in such situations," the bicycle courier believes.
Juris has already filed a report, and law enforcement is investigating the incident. The police will also contact the 'Volvo' driver to get a fuller picture and make a final decision.
This is worth emphasizing, as it is possible that the 'Volvo' driver will present his version of events differently. Eyewitness testimonies will also be useful in the investigation — witnesses are asked to call 112.
