NYC high school senior, 17, who claimed his Citi Bike was stolen by pregnant hospital worker in viral video says he rode the same bike from the Bronx and was re-docking it briefly to avoid higher fee - so who do YOU think was right?
- The teenager, known only as Michael, was involved in a spat with Sarah Comrie outside of a Manhattan hospital earlier this month over a Citi Bike
- Their exchange was widely shared on social media and shows Comrie, 36, shouting 'Help! Help me! Please help me!' as they battle over the bike
- Now, Michael has said he was just re-docking his bike momentarily outside the hospital when Comrie had attempted to take the bike from him
A high school senior who claimed his Citi Bike was stolen by a pregnant hospital worker in a now viral video says he rode the same bike from the Bronx and was redocking it briefly to avoid higher fees.
Speaking to Newsone, the teenager, known only as Michael, has said that, due to higher fees after using Citi Bike for over 45 minutes, he had docked his bike to reset the clock for a moment and was standing by the bike before his exchange with Sarah Comrie, 36.
The two had been caught on video, which went viral, battling it out over the ownership of the New York City Citi Bike.
Comrie's lawyer claims that her receipts prove she had booked the bike at 7:24pm, and that she was physically pushed into the docking station to block her from taking it at 7:25pm.
Michael's receipts don't dispute she had booked the bike. He had pulled up to the hospital docking station at 7:19pm and locked the bike in for five minutes before Comrie appeared.
But he claims the fact he was standing by the bike before intending to book it out again makes him the 'rightful owner' at the time Comrie booked it.
Sarah Comrie and Michael, pictured here tussling with the bike, outside the Bellevue Hospital in Manhattan
Due to his family receiving benefits, he said he gets a discount on Citi Bike rides but after 45 minutes the rate on the bikes increases.
In order to avoid the higher charge, he frequently stops his rides and resets the clock by re-docking the bike.
The pair were arguing over an e-bike which, for a reduced fare member, costs 6 cents per minute.
Speaking to Newsone, Michael said: 'I use the bikes to get to and from school. If I’m traveling anywhere in the city, even if it’s from here to Brooklyn, my first option is Citi Bike.
'It’s my preferred mode of transport. It’s like my car. I can’t say that all of this is not affecting me.'
On the day of the incident, May 12th, Michael and four other teenagers rode bikes from the Bronx to Harlem at 5:53pm, then to the Lower East Side of Manhattan.
Receipts shared on Newsone show his travel from his native Bronx to Harlem, and then from Harlem to the Lowest East Side, stopping outside the Bellevue.
Receipts also show that he had pulled up to the hospital at 7:19pm, with Comrie's receipt showing she had started to use the bike at 7:24pm, before docking it a minute later after their dispute.
At 7:25pm Michael then started using the bike, his receipt shows, and finished his trip at 7:31pm when he redocked it again outside the hospital, blocking anyone else from using it.
He insists that they never left the bikes unattended and that four of his friends had been sitting on their bikes as they rested but he was standing next to his.
Sarah Jane Comrie, 36, approached their group and after asking other members of his group asked Michael if she could use the bike, which he declined.
Michael claims Comrie then scanned the QR code on the bike with her phone even as he had his hands on the handlebars, after asking him to 'help a pregnant woman out'.
After the altercation with Comrie, Michael ended up finally checking the bike back out again at 7:59pm and riding away from the hospital,
He then later made his way back towards the Bronx with his friends and finally stopped using the bike at 10:12pm.
Michael claims he's seen a change in attitude towards him since Comrie's lawyer released her version of events.
'At first, I felt supported. It was like I went through this thing, people saw the video of it, and they were supporting me. When those receipts got released, everything flipped.
'People started calling me a ‘thief,’ a ‘thug,’ and a ‘Black man.'
At one point Comrie accuses Michael of assault saying he's 'hurting my unborn baby,' though the man says she put his hand on her stomach
Comrie could even be seen crying in the video as she hopped onto the disputed bike
The clip shared widely on social media and shows Comrie arguing with the men outside of Bellevue.
One of Michael's friends tells Comrie he is recording the situation as the man has his hand on the bike.
She then screams for help, saying: 'Help! Help me! Please help me!' But the man's friend, offscreen, tells her: 'This is not your bike.'
The hospital employee then cries out for help again, and asks the man to 'please get off.'
She then takes off her hospital badge in an apparent effort to hide her identity, as one of the men could be heard asking her: 'You know you're not getting this bike?'
Comrie screams for help again and tries to get onto the rental bike, before swiping the man's phone.
'Why are you taking his phone?' one of the man's friends asks her. 'What's wrong with you? Do not touch his phone, do not touch his phone,' he tells the hospital employee.
Comrie then tells the man that he's 'hurting my unborn baby,' to which the man replies: 'You put your stomach on my hand.'
In the video, Comrie could be seen screaming for help as well as warning the men that she was pregnant
The receipt for Comrie's ride
The documents show that the ride was ultimately canceled, and she wasn't charged, before booking another bike minutes after the incident
A roughly 90 second video of the incident was posted on TikTok and Twitter shows Comrie arguing with the man outside of New York City's Bellevue Hospital (pictured)
The woman then turns around and starts to once again scream for help, at which point one of her coworkers approaches.
The man tries to explain: 'This is my bike, it's on my account' and tells the woman to 'please move.'
At that point, the woman can be seen apparently crying — though Michael's friends say they are fake tears.
She then continues to climb onto the bike, hysterical with tears, as her coworker suggests they just 'reset the bike.'
Michael's friends continue to defend him throughout the exchange, saying, 'It's his, it's his.'
One of the friends then again accuses the woman of 'fake crying,' telling her to stop, while the man asks her to 'stop touching me.'
Comrie then steps off the bike and apparently stops crying as she pulls out her phone. 'Not a tear came down miss,' the friend says as the video ends.
