A biker paralyzed when he was hit by an SUV driver fleeing motorcyclists who surrounded his SUV on the West Side Highway last year says he doesn't blame the driver for his injuries.
Edwin Mieses said on the "Today" show he cannot judge what may have been going through driver Alexian Lien's mind during the highway confrontation captured in a viral video.
The Sept. 29 confrontation began when the SUV and a bike bumped on the West Side Highway in Washington Heights. They say Lein, who was in the car with his wife and toddler daughter, hit the gas as other bikers converged, running over Mieses.
Authorities say the bikers chased Lien, dragged him from his car and beat him.
Mieses suffered two broken legs and spinal injuries that paralyzed him from the waist down.
"As soon as I turned around and started walking back towards my bike, that's when I got ran over," he told NBC's Savannah Guthrie. As soon as he hit me, I shut my eyes. I didn't want to open my eyes because I knew that he had hurt me."
Though doctors told him there was just a 0.01 percent chance he would walk again, Mieses vows he will. He said he's focused on rehabilitation, harbors no ill will toward Lein, and relies on his faith and family for support.
Eleven bikers, including an undercover NYPD detective, were indicted in November on charges of gang assault, criminal mischief, riot and other counts in connection with the melee.
Lein was not charged. Aside from a written statement released shortly after the attack, Lien and his family have not spoken publicly.
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