Menace in Durango

A Bayfield man who used his pickup to run bicyclists off the road was given probation Thursday after pleading guilty to reckless endangerment and felony menacing.

Grooms apparently became upset that cyclists were taking up too much of the road, so he yelled at them, drove within 6 inches of them and gunned his truck toward them.

In one instance, Grooms stopped his truck in the middle of the road, exited his vehicle and confronted a group of cyclists. He had a sidearm holstered to his waist.

Grooms eventually drove away, but he passed the cyclists a second time and made an obscene gesture.

No one was injured during any of the incidents, but several cyclists feared for their safety and were forced off the road along a 10-mile stretch of roadway.

Grooms thanked prosecutors in the courtroom

The felony menacing charge will be deferred - or dropped from Grooms' permanent record - if he successfully completes the terms of his probation

Other than a drunken driving conviction in 2000, Grooms did not have a criminal history.


Comments:

Suzie says...

I live off Florida Road, near Lemon Reservoir, and I've rarely found cyclists to be a problem. A truly just penalty would have been to suspend Todd Grooms' driver's license, take away his truck, and give him a bike to ride instead for 6 months.

I would also like to get his license plate number and vehicle description so I can report him if I see him driving aggressively. I feel that he is making that area unsafe for all of us who live there, and it concerns me that he was allowed back on the road.