San Francisco

Man Beaten by Dirt Bike Riders on Highway 101 in San Francisco Undergoes Surgery to Fix Broken Leg

The 35-year-old Modesto man was a driver for Uber and Lyft.

An Uber and Lyft driver said his nose and leg were broken on Wednesday when he was beaten by up to 15 motorcycle riders on Highway 101 in San Francisco. 

The Modesto Bee says Alex Quintana was in fair condition Friday. Pins were placed in his left leg, which was run over during Wednesday's attack, part of which was captured on video.

The 35-year-old man says he was heading to pick up a passenger when he tried to inch around the dirt bikers, who were doing stunts and blocking southbound traffic near the Cesar Chavez exit. The move appeared to anger one biker.

"For some reason, he thought I was going to try and run into him and somehow that got relayed to his friends," Quintana said in an exclusive interview with NBC Bay Area.

Quintana said one biker punched his side mirror. Another biker broke his second side mirror.

Quintana said he was forced to pull over because his car was damaged, but that's when a biker broke his passenger window and things escalated. 

"Shards of glass started flying at me and that’s when I got out of the car," he said, admitting that "probably wasn’t the brightest thing" to do.

Quintana said he was simply trying to prevent the bikers from causing any more damage, but "As I got out, they started kicking and vandalizing my car," he said.

When he got out to confront them, Quintana was beaten and kicked. Before leaving him in the middle of the freeway, one of the bikers drove over Quintana's leg and broke it in three places, Quintana said.

Witnesses, including an off-duty firefighter, came to Quintana's aid.

Quintana, who supports a 3-month-old son, says he'll be hospitalized at least 10 more days. So far, he has undergone one surgery on his leg, but thinks he may need to have more, he said.

That time away from work is creating nothing but stress for his family.

"My girlfriend is terribly missing me and worried about all the bills cause she solely relied on me to have money for our baby," he said.

Admitting that he feared for his life, Quintana said he is struggling with a feeling of vulnerability, but that has also emboldened him to speak out. 

"It was definitely life threatening," he said. "I didn't know if they were going to stab me or gang up on me or shoot me or anything."

The California Highway Patrol is investigating the incident. No arrests have been made so far. The bikes did not have license plates, according to Quintana.

Copyright AP - Associated Press
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