Victoria Police have released dashcam footage of a car driver hitting a cyclist from behind, knocking him down and dragging his bike under the car, also announcing that a woman has been arrested after handing herself over to the authorities, in an incident they suspect was ‘deliberate’.
The dashcam footage captured by another vehicle showed the 59-year old Robert Clarke riding along Douglas Street in Noble Park, Melbourne, on Thursday morning, when the driver of a white car seemed to slow down, and then suddenly accelerate, swerve around, mount the kerb and hit him from behind, before speeding away.
Clarke flew over his bike and tumbled to the ground, while his bike got stuck under the car and dragged along for more than a hundred metres, before coming apart in tatters.
Today, police said that a 40-year-old Dandenong woman had been arrested, after coming forward and offering to assist the police with their enquiries, ABC News reports.
Police are still hunting for a motorist four days after an allegedly deliberate hit-run on a Melbourne cyclist.
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Thankfully Clarke got out of the incident with a few bruises, but he said it could have been much worse. He added he was riding to work when the driver struck him with her car, which he initially thought may have been stopping to turn into a driveway.
“There was no apparent movement … so I kept going,” he said. “Then, of course, I heard the acceleration and I thought, ‘here’s another smart-arse, they’re going to rev, scare me, then keep going. And the next thing I knew, the world was spinning.”
“I’ve been hit. That’s all I could think. The second thing of course was where’s the bike?” Clarke said.
> Video: Melbourne driver swerves into cyclist and rams him off the road
He mentioned that while he has suffered verbal abuse on Melbourne roads before, the driver didn’t yell or throw anything at him before he was hit by the vehicle, making the incident all the more bizarre, scary and also seem oddly calculative.
Clarke added: “You can speculate all sorts of things about road rage, but I didn’t impede on the lane or falter in front of the driver … I’ve been cycling in the area for six or seven years.”
Greater Dandenong Highway Patrol Sergeant Jerome Ithier said the driver appeared to “deliberately” hit the cyclist and did not appear to have registration plates.
“We’re just very fortunate that this particular cyclist wasn’t injured any further than he has,” he said.
-1024x680.jpg "“Clear anti-cyclist bias”: Lawsuit filed against Toronto police after cop doored cyclist… before ticketing rider over incident")
9 thoughts on “Driver involved in “allegedly deliberate” hit-and-run with cyclist arrested”
So on the whole reporting
So on the whole reporting language of car accidents Vs collisions: I prefer car incident.
Accidents are accidental, collisions are the result of maths and physics, but incidents are things that happen because of human activity/inactivity/systemic failure.
Car Delenda Est wrote:
Some of the comments on that twitter feed are genuinely scary – especially if those people drive.
Attempted murder. Long prison
Attempted murder. Long prison sentence. Lifetime ban from driving.
mt1138 wrote:
No way mate, it’s Australia, where the only thing they hate more than cyclists are the indigenous people. She’ll get a slap on the wrist and a round of applause from the public.
What’s the point in a
What’s the point in a lifetime ban if the person is already banned from driving?
They still can drive even with a ban. They need to be caught several more times before they’ll be jailed.. and then what? Another ban?
The order if caught driving
The order if caught driving (including being caught on camera, not just caught by a copper) while you have a driving ban should be:
1st offence: Vehicle is siezed and crushed. (Nobody is going to lend you a car with that as the risk and ANPR is so prevelent these days that you would be foolish drive a car registered to you.)
2nd offence: Prison for the original duration of your driving ban.
News in Melbourne reports
News in Melbourne reports that a 40 year old woman has handed herself in and “is assisting the Police with their enquires”.
The vehicle did not have registration plates so is probably not registered and uninsured, there’s a fair chance that the driver may also be unlicensed.
The driver Will possible only get fined for these offences which will probably not be paid, unless there are also outstanding warrants against the driver for other offences.
Agree that she should be locked up and assets sold to at least replace the riders bike.
https://www.theage.com.au/national/victoria/dangerous-reckless-police-appeal-for-driver-to-hand-themselves-in-after-deliberate-hit-run-20230417-p5d10f.html
She shouldn’t be allowed to
She shouldn’t be allowed to drive again if you ask me. Someone who can do that deliberately should never be allowed behind the wheel again.
Further update
Further update
Police said the Dandenong woman, who was interviewed by investigators on Monday, was expected to be charged on summons with a range of offences.
They include reckless conduct endangering life, intentionally causing injury, assault with a weapon and failing to stop and help after a crash.
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2023-04-19/melbourne-driver-charged-over-cyclist-hit-run-dashcam/102243428?utm_campaign=abc_news_web&utm_content=link&utm_medium=content_shared&utm_source=abc_news_web