Driver blames cyclist for crash after hitting rider, 2 pedestrians, and a bus while driving wrong way up one-way street

A driver who hit a cyclist and two pedestrians before his car finally came to a halt straddling a low wall and embedded in a bus has blamed the cyclist for causing him to panic and lose control of his vehicle.

According to the Kingston Guardian, Shibob Li, 49, the manager of Chinese Medicine and Acupuncture in Fife Road, drove his BMW out of Fife Road Kingston and attempted to drive the wrong way  into Clarence Street.

Paramedics treated two women - one of whom is believed to have been a cyclist - and a man at the scene. One of the women was airlifted to hospital with lower limb injuries. She is reported to be in a stable condition.

A traffic officer said the driver had hit a cyclist at the pedestrian crossing outside Cappadocia restaurant.

He went on to hit the two pedestrians as his car careered down the street.

"Not just my fault"

Mr Li subsequently blamed the cyclist involved for the incident.

He said: “It is really regrettable all this happened. I just wish them to get better quickly and wish them the best. I am very, very sorry. I was panicked and lost control of the car.

“It happened really quickly and I didn’t have any time to think about it. I was shocked and shaking. Of course I regret. But it is not just my fault.

“He started shouting and caused my panic. I was panicked and lost control of the car.

“I think people cycling, they need to pay due attention. There are too many bicycle people on the road.

“They do not really watch the other people. Sometimes they just come quickly.

Wrong way

However, eyewitness Billy Cole, 19, told the Kingston Guardian that the driver of the car came out of Fife Road and drove the wrong way towards the one way system.

The male victim of the crash, Yassar, was a refugee from Syria who had recently arrived in the UK.

His sister-in-law, Dima, said he was being shown round Kingston by her husband.

“They were going to have some Shawarma at Lebanese Valley. He was standing across the street to Cappadocia.

“The BMW came against the traffic and it hit the cyclist.

“My husband and Yassar were walking together. When they saw the car aiming for them my husband jumped and managed to step away but Yassar couldn’t.

“The car hit him from the side and went on and hit a few other people afterwards.

“He hit his head and the car hit him in both legs and his back.”

Dima said the family were “angry and frustrated.” Yassar had fled the conflict in Syria, only to be hit by a car in the UK.

She said: “There was violence, bombs and shelling 24/7 and snipers. It is a war.

“He never got injured but managed to get injured in Kingston.”

Police say no arrests have been made.