WICKER PARK — A 59-year-old cyclist allegedly spit on a driver who he claimed had cut him off, while the driver and her passenger also were arrested for fighting with the man, police said.
The incident occurred around 6:30 p.m. Wednesday in the 1400 block of Damen Avenue, just before a CAPS meeting in the park's field house on the same block.
"He came up to the vehicle and spit on her while she was driving, and then that's when it all started," said Officer Nicole Amezaga, a Chicago Police spokeswoman.
The cyclist, 59, of the 1500 block of North Wicker Park Avenue, and the car's driver, 40, and passenger, 41, both of the 1200 block of North Hoyne Avenue, all face misdemeanor charges for simple battery, Amezaga said.
All three, who were in police custody before posting bond late Wednesday, are scheduled to appear before a judge at Cook County Branch 23 Criminal Court at 5555 W. Grand Ave. on Oct. 11.
Amezaga said "everyone was arguing back and forth" before being placed under arrest on signed complaints.
The driver of the car told a reporter at the scene that the cyclist said she had cut him off while driving past him. "He spit on me!" she said.
After getting spit on, the woman said she stopped the car. Her boyfriend, a passenger in the car, confronted the cyclist and grabbed him, according to the cyclist.
A private security worker who patrols the park was seen keeping all three parties away from each other until police arrived. The cyclist was resting against a tree while the man and woman were on the sidewalk near the park's entryway.
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