SUV Driver Seen For First Time Since Biker Melee
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork/AP) -- Alexian Lien, the sport-utility vehicle driver who was attacked and beaten in a clash with bikers last month, was seen before cameras for the first time since the attack in recent days.
Lien was seen walking out of his apartment in Manhattan with his mother on Friday, according to a New York Daily News report. Bruises were still visible, and stitches were still seen on his right cheek, the newspaper reported.
Lien did not speak as he walked past the cameras.
Watch The Full Biker Melee Video Below: WARNING — GRAPHIC IMAGES
The first grand jury indictment in the biker melee came down on Friday. Authorities said Reginald Chance, 37, is seen on YouTube video smashing the Range Rover's window with his helmet just before Lien, was dragged out and beaten.
Chance's lawyer has said they will "hotly contest those allegations." He is due back in court on Oct. 30.
The second defendant indicted Friday, Craig Wright, quickly left court and got in a waiting car. He is also accused in the assault, CBS 2's Andrea Grymes reported. On Tuesday, the 29-year-old was arraigned on charges of gang assault and unlawful imprisonment.
Prosecutors said Wright punched Lien through a broken window and then joined in stomping him on the street after he was pulled out of his Range Rover.
Meanwhile, undercover NYPD detective Wojciech Braszczok, who is accused of being a key player in the attack, has opted to testify before a grand jury in February.
Braszczok is one of at least three NYPD officers who were part of the motorcycle group on Sept. 29.
Prosecutors said Braszczok lied when he said he didn't witness the assault. Video has surfaced showing him punching out the back window, they said.
His lawyer says Braszczok never came in contact with Lien or his family and took no part in the assault.
Another suspect, Clint Caldwell, also made a court appearance Friday where he, too, decided he would testify before a grand jury. That proceeding is set for next week.
Caldwell was arraigned Wednesday on charges of assault and gang assault. Police said Caldwell pulled Lien from the SUV. His attorney said prosecutors were mistaking his client for another biker.
On Thursday, a seventh biker was arraigned in the case.
James Kuehne was released on $200,000 bond after being charged with gang assault and other offenses. He didn't enter a plea.
Meanwhile, some bikers are suggesting Lien, knowingly or not, instigated the confrontation off-camera earlier by clipping one of the bikes in a rally on the Henry Hudson Parkway.
Investigators are looking for other helmet-camera videos of the ride, which spurred 911 calls about the bikers' behavior before Lien's beating.
Attorney Gloria Allred, representing Edwin Mieses Jr., the biker who was crushed, claims Lien bumped another motorcycle while changing lanes on the highway two to three miles before his SUV knocked into biker Christopher Cruz.
Mieses, of Lawrence, Mass., didn't see any earlier encounter but got off his motorcycle to defuse the tense situation and was headed back when he was hit from behind by the SUV, she said.
He broke his legs and suffered a spine injury and likely is paralyzed, his family has said.
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