Dog owner apparently gives phony name and number. Help us identify him.

What is worse – the underlying act or the coverup? A few days ago, we received a request for help from Eames Bennett, a Ph.D. Candidate at Texas A&M University. Recently, Eames was riding his bike home in College Station, Texas. At the same time, a family was walking their unleashed dogs next to a street. When one of the dogs spotted Eames, it bolted at him, causing Eames to veer and slam on his brakes. Despite his best efforts, Eames and the dog collided. Fortunately, neither Eames nor the dog were seriously hurt, but Eames suffered nearly $500 in property damage.

Once Eames collected himself, he approached the dog’s owners and told them that they would need to pay for the damage. Eames asked for the man’s name and phone number. At first, the man refused to disclose his name or number, but relented once Eames threatened to call the police. The man gave his name as “Jack” or “Zack” Burton with a phone number of 979-853-4172. Later, Eames attempted to call the number, only to discover it was out of service.  Additionally, Bike Law was unable to locate a Jack Burton or Zack Burton in the Bryan/College Station area. This led us to the conclusion that the guy involved is not named J/Zack Burton, and supplied a fake number.

Luckily, Eames had recorded the whole situation with his Cycliq cameras.

We are now asking for your help to identify this man. He caused a dangerous situation to exist and then provided false information to evade responsibility. Eames would like to fix the damage to his bike, which isn’t so easy on a grad student’s budget. The footage even caught a shot of the tattoo on the dog owner’s left leg that may help identify him.

For what it’s worth, Eames is a big fan of dogs. At Bike Law, we are also into our canine companions. Yet, we believe in controlling our animals to protect the safety of others. Most importantly, we believe if you’re in the wrong, do what you can to make the situation right.

We have a few takeaways from this situation. First, riding with cameras can make all the difference. Second, encourage people to keep their dogs leashed in public spaces. Third, let’s see how broad our reach on social media is to try and identify this guy. Anonymous or non-anonymous tips should be directed to [email protected]. Eames thanks you in advance for your help! 

If you’ve been in a bike crash and need help from our Texas bicycle accident attorneys, contact us right away.

Charlie Thomas

Charlie is a bicycle accident lawyer in Louisiana, Texas, and Mississippi and a member of the Bike Law Network.

Having served as the president of the Texas A&M Cycling Team, where he led the team in appearances in the U.S. Collegiate National Championships, Charlie has spent thousands of hours riding his bicycle in Texas.