Nevada City, CA — The 25th annual Nevada County Food & Toy Run was a little more memorable than usual this year for some unfortunate motorcycle participants. Dozens of bikers never even left the Eric Rood Administrative Center staging area in Nevada City due to a brawl between rival bike club members.
Just minutes before kicking off the annual motorcycle toy run on Saturday, Cossacks club bike rider “Hoss” from Waco, Texas drove his bike tires over the boots of Georgetown, California Hells’ Angels club rider “Sonny”. Whether this incident was intentional or accidental is still not clear at the time of publishing. A Cossacks club member who goes by “Lemmy” later said it was just a case of Sonny being at “the wrong place at the wrong time.”
During the ensuing moments numerous riders from both bike clubs were involved in punching and kicking and the display of brass knuckles, butterfly knives, chains, and steel pipe. Some of the female riders were also seen brandishing pepper spray and donated toys as impromptu weapons during the ruckus. Many of the injured riders were left unconscious and sprawled on the pavement next to their motorcycles in the Nevada County government center parking lot. Once local authorities cleared the area around 12:23 PM a total of 26 of the benefit riders were arrested and booked into the nearby Wayne Brown Correctional Facility.
Community activist and organizer Sairhra Ramun of Nevada City quickly denounced the violence and vowed to petition the event organizer to make future Food & Toy Runs into a family friendly and climate friendly run/walk. The event, which happens every year on the second Saturday of December, provides food and toys to local needy families.
Hundreds, and by some estimates, thousands of motorcycle riders ride on the route from Nevada City to the Nevada County Fairgrounds in neighboring Grass Valley, where local families wait for the arrival of gifts and the promise of a visit from perennial favorite Santa Claus.
