Politico is reporting that Novak ran down a pedestrian (who was in the crosswalk and had the right of way) and then took off, only to be chased down by a cyclist. His bright, shiny Corvette was blockaded by the bicyclist until the cops showed up.
A Politico reporter saw Novak in the front of a police car with a citation in his hand; a WJLA-TV crew and reporter saw Novak as well. The pedestrian, a male in his 60s, was hospitalized at George Washington University Hospital with minor injuries according to the Metro Fire Department. Novak was later released by police and drove away from the scene.
What I don't get was, why did the cops only cite him for "failure to yield"?
Bono (the cyclist0 said the pedestrian, who was crossing the street on a "Walk" signal and was in the crosswalk, rolled off the windshield and then Novak made a right into the service lane of K Street. "The car is speeding away. What’s going through my mind is, you just can’t hit a pedestrian and drive away," Bono said.
Novak didn't know he hit the guy? The poor pedestrian is splattered across the windshield and Novak didn't notice?
A concierge at 1700 K Street said that she saw a bicyclist yelling and walked outside to see what the commotion was about.
"This guy hit somebody and he won't stop so I'm going to stay here until the police come," Aleta Petty quoted Bono as saying, as he stood in K Street, blocking traffic.
And then he tried to bail, too?
He chased Novak half a block down K St., finally caught up with him and then put his bike in front of the car to block him and called 911. Traffic immediately backed up, horns blared, and commuters finally went into reverse to allow Novak to pull over.
Bono said that throughout, Novak "keeps trying to get away. He keeps trying to go." He said he vaguley recognized the longtime political reporter and columnist as a Washington celebrity but could not precisely place him.
God help the world. Someone needs to make Novak walk from now on.
UPDATE: And here's Bob "shaken":
"I didn’t know I hit him. I feel terrible," a shaken Novak told reporters from Politico and WJLA as he was returning to his car. "He's not dead, that's the main thing." Novak said he was a block away from 18th and K streets Northwest, where the accident occurred, when a bicyclist stopped him and said, "You hit someone." He said he was cited for failing to yield the right of way.
Any believers here? Yeah, me neither. How can you hit someone, splatter 'em across your windshield, drive away and try to make a run for it when someone tracks you down, and then have even an ounce of remorse?
I have one word for Bob Novak: LIAR
FINAL UPDATE:Poor guy that Novakula ran over is in worse shape than originally believed:
The victim, a 66-year-old man, appeared somewhat incoherent, said the source who had seen the victim. The man appeared to have casts on his neck and back. The victim was X-rayed and a surgical team plans to evaluate him, the source said.
And to my fellow Kossacks, thanks for putting me on the rec list. I've been on DKos for nearly four years and this is the highest-ranked diary, with the most comments and recs, I've ever had. Guess I need to catch breaking news more often! (I was a journalism major...it should be what I'm good at)