Caught on Tape: Truck Passenger Hurls Water Bottle at Cyclist, Deputies Investigating

Orange County prosecutors want sheriff's investigators to delve deeper into a case of road-rage in which a passenger in a pickup truck hurled a bottle of water at a bicyclist on Pacific Coast Highway in Dana Point, a conflict recorded on video that has gone viral.

Sheriff's investigators presented their case to the Orange County District Attorney's Office, which directed them to gather more evidence, sheriff's Lt. Jeff Hallock said.

Bryan Larsen, a semi-professional bicyclist, used his phone to record a female passenger in a passing pickup truck heaving bottles of water and Gatorade at him on May 31 as he was riding in a bike lane, Hallock said.

Cyclists have been complaining on social media that sheriff's investigators have been sitting on the case and done nothing to track down the culprit. Hallock told City News Service investigators took a report right away and presented evidence to prosecutors.

"Investigators immediately followed up on leads," Hallock said.

From the video, which showed the truck's license plate, investigators were able to determine a suspect, Hallock said.

The cyclist, however, may not be blameless in the incident, Hallock said. Investigators told prosecutors the cyclist may have touched off the conflict when he "made disparaging remarks to the driver" that could be interpreted as a misdemeanor for inciting a fight, Hallock said.

Prosecutors did not reject the case, but wanted investigators to gather more evidence to strengthen any case that's made against the woman or Larsen, Hallock said.

Larsen did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

--City News Service