By Anne Marie Kilday
A Bellaire woman was “terrorized” by two motorcyclists who had been racing on the IH 610 Loop at about 10:30 p.m. Wednesday night, until she called police on her cellphone and got help.
Anna R. Irion, an attorney, had to be escorted to her home by a Bellaire police officer after one of the two motorcyclists banged on her car door and yelled at her, as she waited for the light at Bellaire Blvd. and S. Rice to turn green.
Irion said the incident happened after “a very large group” of motorcyclists were racing on the freeway from US 59 into Bellaire.
“There was a very large group of motorcyclists — I would say 30 to 40 — who had taken over the highway. They were causing other cars to hit their brakes and move out of the way. Instead of moving out of their way — even though they were clearly trying to crowd me — I continued to travel in my lane (the far right lane),” Irion said Thursday afternoon.
As she proceeded down the freeway toward the Bellaire Blvd. exit, Irion noticed that one motorcyclist was “in the median” on the right side of the freeway.
“In order to give him space as I passed him, I veered somewhat into the next lane over. I checked my mirror long before veering over to be sure no bike was there as there were so many of them,” she said
Then, she exited the freeway at Bellaire Blvd..
That’s when she noticed that two of the motorcyclists were following her.
“One of the guys pulled in front of me and came to a complete stop, causing me to stop my car. The other guy — who had a passenger on the back of his bike — pulled up to the right of my car and stopped,” Irion said. “They were essentially trying to block me in.”
“Luckily, I was able to turn my car to the right at a sharp enough angle to be able to get around the guy to my right,” Irion said
Believing that the motorcyclists wouldn’t follow her into Bellaire, Irion attempted to drive to her home, which is close to the intersection of Bellaire Blvd. and S. Rice — as well as the Bellaire Police Department.
“ I didn’t think they would want to come through Bellaire so I thought it was over,” she said
Undeterred, the motorcyclists continue to pursue her, Irion said.
“ I was in the left turn lane at the red light when they pulled up on the right side of my car. One of them began banging my door with his hand and yelling at me. He then began beating the window saying that I tried to run him over,” she continued.
Then, the motorcyclist quickly flashed a badge at her, as she warned the pair that she was calling 911 for help.
“The motorcyclists continued to follow me. They followed me down S. Rice as I spoke with the police. I live very close to that area but knew I couldn’t go home,” Irion said.
She turned right on Pine St. to go back to the Bellaire Police Department, where the dispatcher had advised that an officer was waiting for her. The motorcyclists followed her briefly on Pine St., and then turned around.
“I guess they had seen the officers that were now looking for them and decided to try and get out of there,” Irion said.
She proceeded to the police station, where she met a Bellaire officer outside.
“I told him what had happened. He He informed me that they had caught the guys just down the street and that he was going to go ‘“have a talk with them.’” Irion said. The officer then accompanied her to her home, Irion said.
Although the Bellaire officer questioned her about the man who flashed a badge, Irion said he did not appear to be impersonating a police officer.
“He just implied it by acting like my calling 911 was no big deal and by flashing his badge at me,” Irion said.
Irion made a follow-up telephone call to the Bellaire Police Department Thursday morning and was informed that the two motorcyclists were employed as “security officers.”
The officer told her that “the guys said they showed me the badge to show me ‘they weren’t bad people.’ “
Irion continued: “I explained to the officer on the phone that, badge or no badge, anyone beating on my door and window is a bad person. He said he agreed and that I did the right thing by calling them. From what I understand, BPD let them go after just a few minutes of talking to them.”
“Although BPD was great in helping me and keeping me safe, I’m surprised they didn’t do more with these guys,” Irion said. “They basically terrorized me, tried to make me think they were cops, tried to stop my vehicle, hit my vehicle, and yet were on their way shortly after.”
“These guys are a nuisance. They are dangerous on 610 and, clearly, have no problem trying to scare people. They are a major problem,” Irion said.
Bellaire Police Chief Byron Holloway said the two suspects who were stopped “gave a different account” of the incident.
“The investigating officer completed his investigation last night and presented the information to the District Attorney’s office,” Holloway said. The DA’s office “advised that there
was not enough to accept charges at this time,” Holloway said.
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