Cops: Cyclist Attacks Pedestrian With Bike Chain In Midtown

NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) -- The NYPD is searching for a suspect who is wanted for beating a man with a bike chain.

Police said the altercation between the bike delivery man and the pedestrian happened on July 26 at the intersection of 44th Street and Ninth Avenue. Restaurant workers said they came outside to be with the victim while he waited for an ambulance, CBS2's Clark Fouraker reported Tuesday.

A restaurant manager snapped photos of what is believed to be a bike delivery worker.

"I saw a man fall back and he hit his head and I heard that sound of his head hitting the ground and it wasn't a good sound," restaurant manager Patrick Freitas said. "I found under his eye, like his orbital bone under his right eye, was starting to swell up."

Police said the cyclist almost ran into the 22-year-old man and an argument followed, adding the young man was walking away when the delivery man wrapped his bike chain around his hand and punched the man in the back of the head.

"We saw a guy bleeding and, like, his head was bleeding," restaurant worker Sharlana Ahmed said. "It was like surrounded by a lot of people. I was like, that's crazy."

"I said 'What happened?' And they said the guy over there punched him.And so I look over and there is a delivery guy getting on a bike and I said, 'The delivery guy?' And they said, yeah. So I see him starting to ... wants to ride off," Freitas said.

Freitas confronted the cyclist, who he said threatened to punch him, too. Freitas snapped the photos of the deliveryman as he rode away.

"I'm thinking, this guy is going to get away with at least a serious assault. I didn't know how bad it was going to turn out," Freitas said.

The suspect is said to be about 5-foot-7 and was wearing a backpack with the word "Relay" on the back, the same name as a restaurant delivery service in the city. The victim was taken to Bellevue Hospital in critical condition and has since been released.

Police have only released three photos of the suspect. They have not said if they know who the man is, but said they do need the community's help finding him.

Anyone with information in regards to this incident is asked to call the NYPD's Crime Stoppers Hotline at 1-800-577-TIPS (8477) or for Spanish, 1-888-57-PISTA (74782). The public can also submit their tips by logging onto the Crime stoppers website or by texting their tips to 274637 (CRIMES) then enter TIP577.