Gloria Allred: Injured biker was 'innocent victim' in clash with SUV

Edwin "Jay" Mieses before and after Sunday's accident, in photos provided by his attorney

By Tracy Connor, Staff Writer, NBC News

The motorcycle rider whose spine was crushed when he was run over by an SUV fleeing an angry swarm of bikers is an "innocent victim" who was trying to calm the confrontation, his high-profile attorney said Friday.

At a Manhattan news conference, Gloria Allred said Edwin "Jay" Mieses, 32, had his back to the Range Rover and was trying to get fellow bikers to walk away when he was struck "at top speed" last Sunday.

Gloria Allred, attorney for injured motorcyclist Edwin Mieses, Jr. tells reporters that Mr. Mieses was trying to help the driver of the SUV diffuse the situation, when he was run over.

"His sole intention was to defuse the situation," said Allred, a Los Angeles attorney who often handles headline-grabbing sexual harassment cases.

"Watch that huge vehicle, SUV, blast off, and watch it as it is lifted several feet off the ground as it rolls over Edwin Mieses," she said of video of the incident, which has gotten millions of hits on YouTube.

Allred said she was in no way justifying what happened after Mieses was hit, when the driver, Alexian Lien, was chased 50 blocks by the riders, pulled from his vehicle and beaten.

"Edwin Mieses and his family deplore what happened to the driver of the SUV," she said.

"However, let us not lose sight of the fact that Mr. Mieses had done nothing to Mr. Lien," she added. "We don't think our client should have been run over and crushed."

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Allred said the family has not decided whether to sue Lien, 33, and is cooperating with the Manhattan District Attorney's office as it investigates.

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Lien's wife, Rosalyn Ng, released a statement Thursday expressing sympathy for Mieses but saying her husband had no choice but to flee the bikers because it was a "life-threatening situation."

"Our fear for our lives was confirmed when the incident ended with the ruthless and brutal attack on my husband, me, and, most importantly, our two-year-old child," Ng said.

Deliliah Domenech

Edwin "Jay" Mieses may be paralyzed after being hit during a clash between bikers and an SUV on the West Side Highway.

Neither Lien nor Mieses have been charged with a crime, but the biker involved in the minor fender bender that triggered the confrontation was arrested.

Christopher Cruz was charged with reckless driving and unlawful imprisonment for slowing down in front of Lien's Range Rover as the pack of riders roared down West Side Highway.

When Lien clipped Cruz's back tire, other bikers stopped and some began attacking the SUV with their helmets and slashing its tires, police said.

That's when Lien sped away, hitting Mieses, who suffered a broken spine, torn aortic valve and punctured lung.

“Doctors have indicated they do not know whether or not he will ever walk again,” Allred said.

"It's a miracle he survived. He faces a very uncertain future."

The bikers were taking part in a loosely organized unauthorized daredevil rally dubbed Hollywood Stuntz, police said. Mieses, an aspiring rapper from Lawrence, Mass., only knew one other rider, said his wife, who defended the two-wheelers.

"They are not gang members. They are not thugs," Dayana Mejia said, tearfully describing her husband as a devoted father of two.

Allred deflected questions about her new client's driving record: he was named a habitual traffic offender in June and his right to drive was revoked until 2017; he does not have a motorcycle license, records show.

She said it was "irrelevant" because even though he drove to and participated in the rally, he was off his bike at the time he was run over. She also upbraided the public for "prejudice" against bikers.

She said the family was seeking justice but when asked what form that would take, she replied, "We'll see."

Mieses father, a Pennsylvania pastor, said he felt "no anger" toward anyone, including Lien.

"The driver of the SUV is going to eventually have to face what he did," he said.

This story was originally published on Fri Oct 4, 2013 2:37 PM EDT