Man turns himself in alleged Beltline attack

ATLANTA — The man accused of attacking a cyclist on the Atlanta Beltline turned himself in on Wednesday.
 
Quinn Chrzan, 24, says the man shouted anti-gay slurs just before the man slammed him into a gate and punched him repeatedly.
 
"I was pinned against the wall and my hand was sliced up so, there was nothing I could do," said Chrzan. "He just punched me in the face." 
 
The incident happened at Beltline Northeast near McGruder Street.

On Wednesday, Michael Sanders turned himself in to Atlanta police. He was charged with battery and released Thursday morning on $5,000 bond.
 
Chrzan says the man was angry that he was riding too close to him as he ran on the trail.
 
"Right when I was about to pass him, he just stopped and he looked at me and called me a f*****," said Chrzan. "I had no idea what I did to set him off."
 
The victim pulled out his cellphone and shot video. Police were able to capture stills from the recording at the moment when Chrzan says the man yelled at him a second time.
 
"(He) kept calling me homophobic slurs and all I said to him was, Please don't use homophobic slurs,'" Chrzan said. 
 
Moments later, Chrzan says the runner, who had continued on the Beltline to Irwin Street, turned back once again and attacked him.
 
"There's a bunch of witnesses," said Chrzan.
 
The Atlanta Police Department's Video Integration Center cameras captured the incident. Cameras at a bike shop next door also recorded the attack.
 
Chrzan is not gay, but says he took exception to the slurs. Atlanta Police Department's LGBT division is looking into the attack.
 
"They were trying to figure out if it was a possible hate crime," said Chrzan. "They're not sure since it didn't seem like he was targeting me." 

WSBTV