![\"Sherry](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/IMG_0964.jpg\" "\\"Sherry")
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Sherry Martinez hugs Gerry McIntyre after a hearing at Sacramento Superior Court on Monday.<\/p>\n
GRAHAM WOMACK<\/p>\n
gwomack@sacbee.com<\/p>\n
A man will stand trial on two felony charges stemming from a 2023 alleged road rage incident in midtown Sacramento that left a bicyclist hospitalized, following a judge\u2019s decision Monday to deny his request for mental health diversion.<\/p>\n
Kaleb Taubman, 34, faces felony charges of assault with a deadly weapon and hit and run, with two enhancements attached to each charges. The charges stem from an Aug. 12, 2023, crash in which Taubman allegedly drove a Chevrolet Avalanche into bicyclist Sherry Martinez.<\/p>\n
Martinez was hospitalized following the incident, according to a police report that she provided to The Bee. She said she suffered a concussion, collapsed lung, broken collarbone and four broken ribs.<\/p>\n
On Monday, following the hearing in Sacramento Superior Court, Martinez received hugs from some of the more than a dozen supporters, many of them members of the cycling community, who came with her to the hearing.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m still a bundle of nerves,\u201d Martinez said.<\/p>\n
Taubman and his attorney, Ryan Couzens of Roseville, declined to comment following the hearing. Taubman is scheduled to return to court Sept. 21 to set a trial date.<\/p>\n
How the 2023 crash occurred<\/p>\n
The 2023 crash happened near the intersection of 24th and J streets on a Second Saturday, when people typically take to the streets of midtown and art galleries open their doors.<\/p>\n
\u201cI guess Kaleb had a little road rage,\u201d Martinez said. \u201cHe claims to be an avid cyclist, but his reason for hitting me was we were going too slow, so that really doesn\u2019t match up.\u201d<\/p>\n
Martinez, 44, of Del Paso Heights, said she was riding single-file with two friends on 24th Street when Taubman struck her.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe was in this flow of cars, and he got to a point where he was just driving kind of weird,\u201d Martinez said. \u201cHe got stopped behind a vehicle turning left, and he veered around them.\u201d<\/p>\n
She added, \u201cThe last thing I remember is a glare from him.\u201d<\/p>\n
The case drew immediate media attention. Martinez gave an interview to CBS Sacramento from her hospital bed.<\/a> Bicyclists initiated a letter-writing campaign urging that Taubman be charged. He wasn\u2019t arraigned until July 2024, nearly a year after the incident.<\/p>\n Martinez was supported in court Monday by more than a dozen members of the American River Bike Patrol, which Martinez joined following the crash.<\/p>\n \u201cI think Sherry is such a sweet, wonderful person,\u201d bike patrol member Gerry McIntyre said. \u201cShe\u2019s such a kind spirit.\u201d<\/p>\n Richard Miller, who is involved with D2 Bike Fest, also joined her at the courthouse.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m very happy about today\u2019s decision because the judge saw through all the rhetoric of using loopholes to get out of responsibility,\u201d Miller said.<\/p>\n How the mental health diversion hearing went<\/p>\n Taubman, who is not in custody, and Couzens stood before Judge Martin E. Tejeda on Monday.<\/p>\n Tejeda explained that the hearing would determine whether Taubman was both eligible and suitable for mental health diversion.<\/p>\n Tejeda acknowledged that Taubman was eligible to apply, noting that he\u2019d been diagnosed in the past five years with a qualifying mental health disorder. He noted that Taubman had disorders related to depression, anxiety and alcohol and cannabis use.<\/p>\n But Tejeda explained that Taubman\u2019s eligibility alone wouldn\u2019t be enough for diversion.<\/p>\n \u201cThe Legislature has indicated that someone can be eligible and not suitable,\u201d Tejeda said.<\/p>\n While Tejeda noted that Taubman didn\u2019t have any previous criminal history, Tejeda said the court found that Taubman posed an unreasonable risk to public safety. Tejeda noted that Taubman had stopped taking prescribed medications.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m going to respectfully deny the mental health diversion at this time,\u201d Tejeda said.<\/p>\n Martinez, who said she\u2019s attended every hearing in the case, said the day felt like a victory.<\/p>\n \u201cIt feels like a victory for California, for pedestrians, cyclists out there and for drivers to open their eyes and share the road and drive safer and every time you get behind the wheel, understand this is a deadly weapon,\u201d Martinez said.<\/p>\n
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