Video: Cyclist hospitalised as kangaroo leaps across road

A cyclist in Australia was left with bruises and stitches when he was hit by a kangaroo while out on a group ride, with the impact of the collision killing the animal instantly.

Dominic Shepherd from Junee, New South Wales, was in a group of 20 riders travelling at 40 kilometres an hour when the large marsupial attempted to bound across the road at right angles to him, knocking him from the bike.

The incident which took place between Harefield and Wagga was captured on camera by a cyclist riding behind him, with doctor riding with them administering first aid before he was taken to hospital, reports 9 News.

Mr Shepherd said: “Four lots of stitches, skinned knees, bruising all over my body, and my thumbs where I landed on the grips - I can’t move my thumbs.”

He added: “It’s just one of those things. It’s pretty rare but it does happen, it’s part of the game.”

Last month in Victoria, four cyclists ended up in hospital after one skidded on the carcass of a dead kangaroo, believed to have been killed earlier in a collision with a  motor vehicle.

> Four cyclists hospitalised after crashing due to dead kangaroo