A 67-year-old woman from Naperville’s north side is free on bail, accused of deliberately striking a bicyclist in the city’s downtown area and then driving away with his $3,000 bike impaled on her car.
Bond was set Tuesday at $100,000 for Mary Ann Rehm, of the 500 block of East Bauer Road in the city’s Maple Terrace neighborhood. She was released after posting $10,000 bail, and is scheduled to appear Aug. 24 for a preliminary hearing in DuPage County Circuit Court in Wheaton, according to court records.
Rehm faces Class 3 felony charges of aggravated battery with a deadly weapon and aggravated battery in a public place, court records indicated. She is accused of running down bicyclist Jereme Peterson, 17, of Lisle, in a reputed case of road rage.
I can’t tell you how refreshing it is to see this woman’s bond set at $100,000 and multiple felony charges for this incident. I doubt she will serve any time due to her age and apparently clean record, but at the very least this sends a message to drivers that Naperville takes bicycle safety seriously and will protect riders in cases like this.
It has been mentioned in the comment sections of these news articles that the cyclist was making a left turn from Washinton onto Jefferson at a time when it is prohibited, but that is still no excuse for turning your vehicle into a weapon and running someone over for the inconvenience of having to slow down for a few moments. My guess is this woman wouldn’t have rammed her car into another similarly sized vehicle or the back of a semi had one of those slowed her down.
