Road rage doctor guilty of assaulting cyclists

A driver has been found guilty of injuring two cyclists in a road rage attack. Jurors in Los Angeles decided that Dr Christopher Thomas Thompson, 60, deliberately slammed on his car's brakes moments after overtaking the pair.

Thompson was convicted of six felonies, including assault with a deadly weapon, and one misdemeanour. He was remanded to custody pending sentencing.

The injury incident happened on Mandeville Canyon Road in Los Angeles County, on 4 July 2008. Two other cyclists testified that a driver matching Thompson's description performed the same action in previous incidents on the same road, but both were able to avoid crashing into the car.

Ron Peterson and Christian Stoehr were not so fortunate, and according to testimony, Thompson, after a verbal altercation, passed the pair then suddenly stopped.

The riders did not have enough space to stop or swerve. One rode into the rear windscreen of the car, breaking his nose and front teeth and requiring stitches. The other crashed into the kerb and injured his shoulder.

Police testified that Thompson, a former emergency room physician, admitted purposely trying to crash the riders in order to "teach them a lesson".