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Investigators try to sort out biker road-rage beating in New York City

NEW YORK, Oct. 2 (UPI) -- New York police are trying to sort out a road-rage incident between a group of motorcyclists and a driver who sped off after a fender bender.

Alexian Lien, who hit one of the bikers with his Range Rover as he sped away Sunday, said he feared for the safety of his family, the New York Post reported Wednesday. So far, he has not been charged.

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The bikers, who were participating in an annual ride around New York, eventually caught up with Lien, pulled him from his vehicle and beat him.

One of the bikers, Christopher Cruz of Passaic, N.J., 28, has been charged with endangering the welfare of a child -- Lien's young daughter -- and reckless driving. But sources in the Manhattan district attorney's office concede the case against him is weak, the Post said, suggesting he was charged mostly because of public pressure.

Edwin Mieses of Lawrence, Mass., an audio engineer who was in New York for the motorcycle ride, was critically injured when he was struck by the Range Rover. His wife, Dayana Mejia, told ABC News she thinks Lien has been getting a pass.

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"I blame him. And what I even blame him more for is he's out, he's not even charged, and he's the 'victim,'" Mejia said.

Mejia said her husband's spine was crushed, he has many broken ribs and he is paralyzed from the waist down, possibly permanently.

Investigators are studying videotape of the chase and Lien's beating and are trying to identify the bikers who appear to be most responsible, the Post said.

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