San Francisco Bike Rampage Suspect in Psych Ward

As a San Francisco injury attorney representing one of the injured bicyclists in the Bicycle Road Rampage incident that took place last week, the only good news to report is that the suspect, identified as David Mark Clark, 39, of Albany, is in custody and has been charged with attempted murder, rather than aggravated assault,  for allegedly hitting bicyclists with his car in San Francisco last week.  

Police said Friday a motive is still unknown for why Clark allegedly targeted the bicyclists. Prosecutors not listing any hate crime charges, which implies, I suppose, that hate was not a motive.

Meanwhile, Clark is being held under observation at the county jail’s psychiatric unit, which brings up a very troubling aspect of this case, which is whether there will be insurance coverage to assist the victims not only with their out-of-pocket expenses, but also with other damages such as lost wages and pain and suffering.  (In the interest of full disclosure, as I noted above, I am representing the most seriously injured bicyclist and I therefore do have a financial interest in the outcome.)

Generally speaking, there is no insurance for intentional acts, as set forth in Insurance Code section 533. However, the “intentional” nature of the act can be negated by the wrongdoer’s mental state and his capacity to intend to do the harm. In other words, if Clark did not have the capacity to intend to do harm to the bicyclists because he was suffering from delusions, say, there is an argument that any insurance he carried would be available to the bicyclists.

I don’t know what will ultimately be decided about Clark’s mental state, but it seems clear to me that no one in their right mind would target bicyclists, in public, with witnesses, with no apparent motive unless his mental capacity was severely  impaired.

For now, let’s just be thankful that Clark is behind bars and hope that the justice system works to insure that he will never hurt another bicyclist. Meanwhile, I will work to make sure that the civil justice system does its best for my injured cyclist client.