Cyclist Hits Pedestrian, Then Flees the Scene

A bicyclist who plowed into a pedestrian on the Upper East Side was caught on film before quickly riding away from the scene. Video footage was obtained via a dash cam in the victim’s car, which showed the aftermath of a cyclist sideswiping the 67-year-old woman.

The woman had reportedly parked her car and was returning to it after running an errand, when the rider hit her. The dash cam recorded the sound of the impact and images of the cyclist, who turned and looked at the bleeding victim before speeding away outside of the designated bike lane. The victim suffered bleeding on the brain and a broken nose and clavicle. The cyclist remains at large. 

Residents of the neighborhood assert that aggressive cyclists are quite uncommon and pose a hazard to people on foot. A recent report showed that between the years of 1996 and 2005, 11 pedestrians throughout New York City died after being hit by cyclists. Like this recent victim, the majority of them were ages 60 years or older.

City officials are trying to crack down on aggressive bicyclists, and have issued thousands of citations for infractions such as failure to stop at red lights, disregarding traffic signage and signals, riding in the wrong direction or on sidewalks and not yielding to pedestrians in crosswalks.

Although the majority of pedestrian accidents involve cars and other motor vehicles, bike riders are also at fault in some cases. If you’ve been seriously injured in a pedestrian accident, speak with an experienced attorney at [ln::firm_name] in New York City.