However, Loven was convicted in a 2009 bike-rage case -- and now we're learning he received a citation in a brawl with two bicyclists circa 2003.
According to the Boulder Daily Camera, Loven and Jim Mohan were accused of brawling in 2003 -- a fight Mohan says was prompted by Loven using his truck to run him and a companion off the road.
Mohan was able to catch up with the truck driver at an intersection, and his harsh words inspired Loven to climb from the vehicle. At that point, Mohan punched Loven in the head -- a bad idea for a number of reasons, not the least of which was that Loven was much larger than his angry adversary. "I felt like I was fighting for my life," Mohan told the Camera.
In the end, nothing much came of the incident -- but that wasn't the case six years later. According to Bicycle Times Magazine, cyclist Scott Boulbol was in a designated bike lane when Loven passed him with little room to spare on Lee Hill Road. This maneuver sparked a shouting match, after which Loven got back into his truck -- which he used to block the bike lane and force Boulbol into oncoming traffic.
In the end, as we first reported in the piece linked above, Loven pleaded guilty to misdemeanor reckless endangerment. But he was only sentenced to probation and community service, which incensed the folks at the Liberty on Bikes! blog. The author of a Loven-related post wrote, "Road rage should just be an automatic six month suspended license, no questions asked... I love how if you swung a metal bat at someone, it can be aggravated assault and a lengthy jail sentence. But wielding two tons of steel can be pawned off as an 'accident,' or maybe 'negligent operation of a vehicle.'"
Cut to June, when Howrey, a founding member of the Ann Arbor Bicycle Touring Society who moved to Boulder a few years ago, was pedaling east on Lefthand Canyon Road alongside his wife, Sharon. Loven's truck was headed in the opposite direction, and it hit Howrey's bike as Loven was making a turn. The impact threw Howrey approximately 36 feet. He'd been wearing a helmet, but he was declared dead at the scene.
The Colorado State Patrol continues to investigate Loven in the context of the crash that led to Howrey's death. Look below to see a Daily Camera video from the scene.
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