A dispute over the use of a bicycle lane on the Near North Side ended with one man being stabbed and another facing felony charges, officials said. Chicago police said it happened around 7:45 p.m. Wednesday in the 1100 block of North LaSalle.
Prosecutors said a 45-year-old man was riding a Vespa when Daniel Salinas, 27, pulled up next to him on a scooter and told him to pull over. The two began arguing, with Salinas allegedly accusing the other man of cutting him off in the bike lane.
Salinas eventually pulled out a knife and took a fighting stance as the victim repeatedly told him to drop the weapon, according to prosecutors. When Salinas lunged toward the man, the victim threw Salinas to the ground and tried to disarm him, officials said.
The men struggled, and Salinas, still on the ground, allegedly slashed the victim on his arm. A witness detained Salinas as he tried to escape on his scooter, prosecutors said. A CPD surveillance camera recorded the incident.
Prosecutors said the victim was still in the hospital on Friday morning.
Salinas, who has no criminal background, is charged with one count of aggravated battery with a deadly weapon. His public defender, Suzin Farber, said he owns an animal rescue shelter and lives in Westchester with his wife and child. CPD, however, said he lives in Humboldt Park.
Farber contended that the altercation “may have been a mutual combat situation.”
Judge Barbara Dawkins ordered Salinas to pay a $3,000 deposit toward bail to be released from jail.
Last week, a 36-year-old man was fatally stabbed when he struggled for control of a knife during a road rage confrontation with another driver in River North. Murder charges were filed in that case.
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