ST. LOUIS — A large motorcycle group held a rally in St. Louis over the weekend, drawing thousands of bikers to the 19th annual "Ride of the Century."
One video posted to Instagram shows an incident where a driver hit a motorcyclist who was doing a trick in the street following a group ride through the region, hosted by the Streetfighterz. The video contains profanity.
Jake Traum recorded the video Saturday evening just after 6 p.m. outside of a bar where a large group of people gathered after "Ride of the Century" ended on Broadway Road in south St. Louis City. Video of the incident shows a man in a small truck on a street lined with motorcyclists. Motorcycles are weaving through passenger car traffic.
The man's truck is stopped, his door open, speaking with another man walking in the middle of the street.
"Please don't start an argument," a bystander is heard saying in the background.
The man gets back in the truck, accelerates, and then takes off at a high rate of speed for the small, tightly packed street.
In the video you see a person riding a wheelie in front of a truck, the truck hits the motorcyclist and drags the blue bike down the street. The truck is seen driving down the street for 15 seconds with the bike under the bumper.
The video then shows the crowd running down the street and starting to surround the truck. The biker was able to walk away from the crash. He picks his motorcycle up from under the front of the truck.
At this point, some members of the crowd expressed anger with the driver of the truck. There is a lot of shouting and the scene turns to chaos for a short time. A video posted to a Facebook page shows a man on top of the hood of the truck kicking the windshield causing it to break. The video contains profanity and graphic images. It shows the aftermath of the crash.
Some people attacked the truck driver, while others tried to protect him.
Marissa Polumbus, 25, was at the event. She said while she doesn't have a motorcycle anymore, she has been attending "Ride of the Century" since 2011 with her father. She was there when the crowd surrounded the truck.
"I see this truck come by. This biker popped a wheelie got in front of the truck driver. Then the truck hit the biker, Polumbus said, "The biker jumped up but the driver dragged the bike quite a ways down the street."
She described the angry crowd surrounding the truck, smashing the windshield and windows.
"At the same time, another person was punching this man through his window. And then, another person slashed his tires," Polumbus told 5 On Your Side.
"My boyfriend guided me through the crowd saying 'she’s a nurse. She’s a nurse let her help,'" she said. Polumbus sprang into action and said she helped the driver who was bleeding. She then rushed him to the hospital in her own car.
"I take care of a lot of trauma patients at Barnes where I work so I knew I had to step up to help.”
Marissa said she felt so bad about what happened to the man so she started a GoFundMe account to help pay for his medical expenses and to fix his truck.
A report with St. Louis Metropolitan Police shows a vehicle was towed from the location.
An incident summary from the location that night describes a situation where a man was defending an older man after a crash. The man helping the older man had a firearm but dropped it. Another man picked up the weapon, but shot himself in the thigh. Police said they were unable to locate the older man in the crash but were investigating.
This incident was not visible in videos reviewed by 5 On Your Side.
5 On Your Side reached out to the organizers of the ride. They released this statement:
The Streetfighterz do not condone this type of behavior. The isolated incident does not represent the ride in any way. Our heart breaks for Jim and we hope he makes a full recovery. The Ride of the Century is a special day for St. Louis motorcycle enthusiasts to get together and have a good time on 2-wheels, but safety is our top priority. We do not want to see any bikers injured by drivers. And we do not want to see any drivers hurt by bikers. We have donated to the GoFundme organized for Jim and we hope others will as well. Let’s help this man heal by easing the financial side of things.
The GoFundMe fundraiser lists large donations from Street Fighterz and The Off Track Saloon.
The main event of the Ride of the Century was a group ride from St. Louis into Illinois, stopping in St. Louis County and then back into city limits. The incident occurred during a gathering after the actual motorcycle ride.
The St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department tells 5 On Your Side there were no motorcycles towed over the course of the event, but officers did receive several calls for reckless driving.
Editor's note: 5 On Your Side is not publishing videos of the incident due to their graphic nature and profanity.
