CLEVELAND — Matthew Finegan of Cleveland said he felt lucky to be alive after he was purposely hit by a vehicle while riding his bicycle near the intersection of East 49th Street and McBride Avenue in Cleveland's Slavic Village neighborhood on June 22.
Finegan told News 5 a second vehicle was involved, and he was pinned in between both vehicles after he fell onto the pavement. Finegan said a suspect got out of one of the vehicles and started kicking and punching him for no apparent reason.
“I figured like maybe they won’t go on the sidewalk, and they literally just hopped the curb, hit me, my bike was totaled, and that’s my way to work," Finegan said. "He got me on the ground after a couple of punches and started wailing on my head with his feet and his hands, and then he proceeded to act like it was a robbery."
Finegan described the vehicles involved as a red 2010 to 2015 Chevy Tahoe SUV and a white 2005 to 2010 Chrysler sedan.
"After that moment, I thought I was going to die; I thought that they were there just to kill me just for fun," Finegan said. “I’m scared to even walk out my door; I’m even scared just to walk to the bus stop to get back to work.”
Ward Five Cleveland Councilman Richard Starr confirmed the incident is just part of a string of violence and crime that has struck the Slavic Village neighborhood in recent weeks, including the June 15 armed robbery at Broadway Pizza. So far, police have not found the two suspects involved in the hold-up, who were seen on surveillance video, a robbery that left pizza shop clerk Tammy Irwin badly beaten.
Starr told News 5 he's contacted both the third and fourth district Cleveland police commanders about these cases.
“We have people and individuals who are just trying to make a decent living working a job in our neighborhood who wind up getting robbed," Starr said.“It’s like when you’re driving, you got people with this road rage for no reason. Why in the culture is everyone so mad, why is everyone so angry and violence is the solution.”
Starr said he'll take up the problems with escalating crime and violence in Slavic Village, and citywide, with his colleagues in the Cleveland Safety Committee in the coming weeks. Starr believes the city can not police its way out of this current cycle of violence, and said increasing youth outreach and support for low-income families should be part of an initial proactive approach.
“In our neighborhood in Slavic Village in Ward Five, we have seen a spike in crime, and I wanted to ask, 'What are we doing?' Are we patrolling more? Are we having more outreach, are we connecting police to these communities," Starr said. “My experience of being a youth development professional for 15 years is understanding that you got to think about catching them before they start thinking about doing these crimes.”
Anyone with information about the June 22 hit-and-run bike attack or the June 15 Broadway Pizza robbery is being asked to call the Cleveland Police third or fourth district headquarters. Residents with tips about the armed robbery can contact Cuyahoga County Crimestoppers at 216-252-7643, that's 216-25-CRIME. You could receive a cash reward.
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