Man facing assault and battery charge after striking cyclist in Cambridge

CAMBRIDGE, Mass. — Cambridge Police are calling it a case of pedestrian road rage – a woman losing control of her bicycle hits a man walking, then he begins kicking her.

Officials say Gregory Hersh admitted to them that he overreacted yesterday after the incident, slamming his foot into the back and side of a woman who had accidentally run into him with her bike.

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"Sadly, it doesn't surprise me these days, things happen," said Keegan Krick, a Cambridge resident who commutes to MIT each day by crossing over Dana Street and Broadway.

"I would say this is actually one of the quieter streets that I bike on, I mean going down Mass Ave is a completely different story."

But on Sunday afternoon, just before 4 p.m., Cambridge Police say Hersh, a 65-year-old, was walking when a cyclist approached.

"While they were making that turn, there was a pedestrian nearby, they didn't see the pedestrian until
the last second," said Jeremy Warnick, the spokesman for the Cambridge Police. "[They] tried to avoid the pedestrian with the bicycle."

The collision threw her off the bike, and that’s when police say Hersh began kicking the rider.

Julie Dunne has seen her share of near misses from pedestrian and cyclists to vehicles – enough to keep her bike parked in her apartment.

"Two summers ago, [I] forced myself to ride my bike to work for two weeks, and it was really scary," Dunne said. "So never again."

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Hersh faces an assault and battery charge.

Police say the incident is a lesson in keeping composure. Krick feels it’s also a reminder to simply be aware of others.

"I think that every road user has to be responsible, and…I think drivers have to be cognizant," Krick said. "I think pedestrians need to be cognizant likewise; cyclists have to be cognizant."

Multiple attempts to get in touch with Gregory Hersh were unsuccessful.

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