A man accused of pushing a woman off her bicycle spoke out Sunday about what he said are unfair charges against him.
Molly Orzechowski, 26, of Lawrenceville, told police she and her boyfriend were riding alongside each other on Butler Street when Fehmi Abdullah, 36, of Wilkinsburg, "started tailgating us and getting agitated.”
Ms. Orzechowski said Mr. Abdullah then passed them, cut them off and parked his car near the intersection of Umpire Way and Butler Street. He hopped out of his car and ran toward them screaming profanities before pushing her off her bike, causing her to scrape and bruise her arm, she said.
Mr. Abdullah contends, however, that the couple purposefully rode slowly in front of him as he attempted to take his autistic son to a therapy session. The couple would not let him pass after he decided to not make a turn at the last-minute, he said. Mr. Abdullah said the couple continuously gave him the middle finger and rode slowly for several blocks.
He parked his car and approached the couple screaming, and Ms. Orzechowski let go of the handle bars of her bike and hit a curb, he said. He tried to catch her as she fell over, he said, but was accused of pushing her instead.
"I admit I shouldn't have screamed at her, because that scared her, which is probably why she fell," he said Sunday. "But I didn't push her. They make it seem as if they're angels or something and I'm some kind of monster."
The incident happened at the 46th Street intersection around 1:30 p.m. Thursday. Public safety spokeswoman Sonya Toler said police were able to identify Mr. Abdullah based on photographs taken by the victims.
Mr. Abdullah, who has worked at his brother's convenience store in Wilkinsburg for eight years, said he called the police after he saw reports in the news while at work about the incident.
"My customers know me here," he said. "They know who I am. They know I'm not like that, that I wouldn't do something that crazy."
First Published: July 26, 2015, 11:22 p.m.
