Members of the bicycling community will gather at a Sacramento bike shop Saturday to support two teenagers who suffered major injuries after being struck by a vehicle in Yolo County last summer.
Jonathan Jackson and Taariq Jenson were both 17-year-old racers in training when, authorities say, they were intentionally run down by a man driving a stolen car on South River Road near Clarksburg. Jenson spent several weeks in a coma and has undergone multiple brain surgeries, while Jackson has lingering injuries as well.
Don Dumaine, another Sacramento cyclist, also was hit by the vehicle and suffered injuries during the June 30 incident.
Dumaine’s cycling team, Revs Road Race Team, has since established a GoFundMe account that has raised more than $3,500 for new gear for the teens, including a new bike for Jenson and cycling components for Jackson.
Team members will present Jackson and Jenson with their new equipment at 8:30 a.m. Saturday at Kinetic Cycles, 535 La Sierra Drive (near the intersection of Watt Avenue and Fair Oaks Boulevard), followed by a short group ride on the American River bike trail.
For more information about the fundraising effort and Saturday’s event, visit https://www.gofundme.com/fadhv28k.
The suspect in the case, Alamar Cyril Houston, made a brief appearance Wednesday in Yolo Superior Court, where the scheduling date for a competency trial was postponed until Jan. 14.
That proceeding will determine whether Houston, 38, can understand the nature of the court process and is capable of assisting his counsel with his defense. His attorney, Supervising Assistant Public Defender Sally Fredericksen, says he cannot.
But Yolo County prosecutors disagree, saying in court papers that Houston has a documented history of faking mental illness in order to avoid prior criminal proceedings.
A court-appointed psychiatrist, Dr. Captane Thomson, has concluded that Houston is incompetent to stand trial, though prosecutors say that determination was made without having viewed the malingering claims. The DA’s Office has obtained its own expert to evaluate Houston as well.
Houston, who allegedly led law-enforcement officers on a pursuit from West Sacramento to Sacramento after hitting the cyclists, is charged with three counts of premeditated attempted murder, hit and run, assault, vehicle theft, driving under the influence and evading police.
— Reach Lauren Keene at lkeene@davisenterprise.net or 530-747-8048. Follow her on Twitter at @laurenkeene
