BIKEPGH MESSAGE BOARD ARCHIVE

I think the chance the two things are related is essentially zero. If you were really planning on killing someone would you post about it on craigslist first?

Depends on how stupid one may be. The hit & run driver is rumored to have said "what have I done?" after hitting the cyclist...if it was the CL poster, maybe things started adding up in his head... the threats, the partial ID, the road / Internet rage spilled over into fatal action.

I wonder if this is how the CL story got legs:

Reporter: "I've heard there was a post on Craigslist last week by someone claiming to drive a white Ford F-150 who said he was looking for cyclists to tangle with. Are the police actively investigating this?"

Police officer: "We are actively pursuing many leads in this case."

Later, headline: "Police Work with Craigslist to Find Hit-and-Run Driver"

That said, I'm sure someone in the PD has contacted CL about this, because it does seem a bit more than circumstantial.

Although it's unlikely the c-list poster is the same person who killed the cyclist I'm glad the threatening post on Craigslist is making the news and being treated seriously. Hope the person who posted it at least gets a knock on their door by the police.

or, some reported from WPXI came over here and thought "hey the cyclists think it's some wacko on craigslist and called the FBI about it...."

either way, i'd rahter the police would spend their effort on the people who are actually out there on the streets menacing cyclists than people posting on the internets about it.

CL would have the posters' IP addresses. Not too difficult to trace it back to a real person or persons. If that matches the partial license plate, and there's damage to the truck matching the bike, that's enough evidence to convict.

i'd rahter the police would spend their effort on the people who are actually out there on the streets menacing cyclists than people posting on the internets about it.

@salty: so you don't think that the people who are getting a boner posting about inflicting violence on cyclists are actually capable of carrying it out? After reading the CL posts, do you think that it's within any realm of possibility that f-150 guy at some point recently was "actually out there on the streets menacing cyclists" - either verbally or physically? The guy is local - it doesn't concern you that he may be out on a street that you may be on?

Does anyone have any recent memory of wackos committing murder, then after the fact discovering that they've posted crazy things on net message boards prior to the act? (thinking of the stanton heights shooter, but I may be able to dig up a few more examples on the googles). In any case, my tax dollars approve of law enforcement spending a little time with craigslist over white f-150 guy.

@scott: The CL poster will hopefully get a knock on his door... in my experience, that would be more police effort than can be said for any road rage incident that I've ever reported to PGH or PAT cops - complete with full license plate, driver, and vehicle description. The cops generally don't give a shit about what happens to you out there until it's too late, so I'm pretty happy about the attention being given to this.

@bjanaszek: CL is fairly cooperative with criminal investigations from what I understand. I'm thinking that the media wouldn't say anything unless the cops had some sort of user info in hand.

Information on the Ghost Bike Lock-Up / Memorial:

http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=116828627605

@quizbot: Unfortunately it looks like this sick twist from the gym last night is an example I still think it's more than likely unrelated in this case but that obviously makes me reconsider my position...

" I'm thinking that the media wouldn't say anything unless the cops had some sort of user info in hand. "

I think I have a lower opinion of the media than you do.

In any case, my tax dollars approve of law enforcement spending a little time with craigslist over white f-150 guy.

BTW, despite my snark, I agree with this.

In any case, my tax dollars approve of law enforcement spending a little time with craigslist over white f-150 guy.

agreed:

http://www.wpxi.com/news/20288141/detail.html

That's messed up.

There must not have been many people reading his blog.

That gym blog is so odd. The little I've read reads mostly like someone thoughtfully doing something positive to change their life (ask the boss for a raise, perform at a comedy club open mic, whatever). Scary.

Sad for the other people involved. No warning - a reminder to us all that we don't know when our time will come.

Mick