A man and woman out for a bike ride in southeast Houston became the targets of an irate driver this past weekend, but since this is Texas we’re talking about, it turns out that one of the bicyclists was ready and able to act in self-defense.

It was Sunday afternoon when the couple were confronted by a man who told them that they shouldn’t be riding around the neighborhood. Just a few minutes later, the verbal attack turned physical. The man actually used his vehicle to run into the female bicyclist, knocking her to the ground.

 The male cyclist had a gun on him and shot the driver, police said.

“He was in fear of his life, and he was trying to defend himself,” a police officer at the scene said of the bicyclist.
Police also said the driver had no right to tell the bicyclists they could not ride around in the area.

The driver, identified as Jose Angel Hernandez, has been charged with aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, according to Houston police.

Both of the bicyclists are going to be okay, and it sounds like Hernandez is expected to recover from his injuries as well.

I don’t know how common it is for cyclists to be armed while riding the roads around Houston, but there’ve been a few other road rage incidents involving bike-riders and car drivers over the past few months. We also saw the recent death of a cyclist who was killed in a hit-and-run in Harris County.

A driver is on the loose after hitting and killing a man with a bicycle in northeast Harris County, according to deputies.

It happened around 4 a.m. along C.E. King Parkway near Tidwell.

Family identified the victim as 37-year-old Alex Cerda.

They say he was on his way home from a friend’s house when the crash happened.

Deputies said Cerda was picking up his bike in the outside lane when the driver struck him.

The driver drove off, leaving him to die at the scene.

Cerda’s mother, Zenaida, said her son was mentally disabled and used a bike for transportation, although she said he has always had a love for bicycling.

A witness reportedly followed after the car that struck him but lost it heading eastbound on Green River Drive, according to family. They were told it was a larger, dark-colored SUV.

They want that person to come forward and accept responsibility for what they did.

“You hurt me in my heart really bad leaving the scene like that. And I want you to come forward and admit what you did to him,” Cerda’s mother said. “That’s my son that I lost and I can’t have him back anymore. I love him so much and now I can’t hear his voice anymore or talk to him anymore, because his life was taken. Please come forward and identify yourself, because I want justice for my son.”