Possible assault? WTF, dooh!
PAPA JOHN'S PIZZA FOUNDER AND NATIONAL CHAMPION CYCLIST
INJURED IN BICYCLE CRASH According to the Associated Press,
"the founder of the Papa John's pizza chain and a national
champion (track) cyclist were injured in a bike crash that
police are investigating as a possible assault." The
incident took place outside Louisville on Wednesday, June
2. John Schnatter, Papa John's chairman and CEO, and Curtis
Tolson, , who is hoping to race in the Olympics, were
hospitalized after the crash Wednesday. The Louisville Courier-
Journal reported today that, "Kevin Marlett, 18, of
Louisville, was charged with second-degree assault and
wanton endangerment after giving a statement to police,
Louisville police spokesman Dwight Mitchell said Friday.
Mitchell said Marlett was charged after coming forward.
There were others in the truck, all juveniles. Mitchell
said it was still not clear whether there was any intent to
harm the cyclists." Schnatter told reporters after leaving
the hospital that he believes wearing a helmet saved his
life. "I really feel blessed," Schnatter said in a
telephone interview. He said he fractured the pointy tips
of two vertebrae in his back, but is able to sit, stand and
move around. "I took a hell of a lick, but I'm OK," he
said. Tolson suffered abrasions and possibly a broken
collarbone or dislocated shoulder. They were riding single-
file, along with Tracy Huber, when apparently a book was
thrown from an oncoming pickup truck. Tolson was hit and
Schattner fell over him. Huber avoided the crash and said
she saw an object, which she later learned was a biology
textbook, thrown from a pickup truck. Following the
incident, "The Francene Show," a Clear Channel radio 84WHAS
talk show in Louisville, invited two members of thelive
discussion on the coexistence of cyclists and motorists.
The cyclists "spoke about recent incidents of violence and
road rage toward cyclists, attempts to improve
cyclist/motorist education and efforts the city needs to
make to keep all parties safer on the roads." The
discussion, planned to last one hour, extended to nearly
two because of the volume of phone calls and emails the
show received in response to the subject and guests.