Many people feared the worst as a cyclist lay motionless for 10 minutes following a serious accident in St George’s Esplanade yesterday morning. (Picture by Peter Frankland, 0571625)
A CYCLIST miraculously escaped serious injury yesterday as he was hit by a van that spun into his path following a collision.
Two white vans collided at about 11.45am opposite the Absolute End restaurant, pushing the smaller Suzuki Carry into the cycle lane and the rider, who was heading north from Town.
Witnesses reported that the larger white Nissan van, also heading north from Town, had veered onto the opposite carriageway and clipped the offside door and panel of the Suzuki.
Onlookers feared the worst as the 53-year-old cyclist remained motionless on the floor near his wrecked bike for 10 minutes after the crash. But luckily there was no need to take him to hospital – an ambulance crew treated him at the scene for minor grazing and bruises.
The driver of the Nissan, clearly shaken by the incident, said he was not sure what had occurred.
‘I cannot remember what happened – I think I clipped the van on the other side of the road, but I don’t really remember,’ he said.
A 24-year-old woman, who asked not to be named, said she saw the incident from her desk at Citifinancial.
‘I heard a massive squeal of brakes and then I saw a man lying on the pavement,’ she said.
‘He didn’t move for about 10 minutes and I thought he was dead.
‘I’m so glad he’s OK.
‘There were lots of people rushing around straight after it happened. Cars stopped in the middle of the road as loads of people tried to help the cyclist.’
The Suzuki was badly damaged, with a large dent and burst tyre from the impact with the other van and another big dent on its nearside from the collision with the cyclist.
The Suzuki driver said that he was very relieved the cyclist had not been badly hurt.
‘I was driving towards Town and a vehicle hit my right-hand side and I spun and went straight into the bike,’ he said.
‘Apparently the guy on the bike is OK and went to the police station for a cup of tea. I could do with one myself.’
Inspector Terry Coule said the incident had at first appeared to be much worse than it proved.
‘The initial phone call indicated it was a serious incident, but thankfully no one was hurt as badly as we first feared,’ he said.
‘Our initial inquiries have resulted in a number of people being interviewed. We have the details of several people at the scene but if there were any other witnesses, we would ask them to come forward and speak to us.’
An Ambulance and Rescue spokesman confirmed the service had been called at 11.47am.
‘We treated a cyclist at the scene,’ he said.
‘He did not require a transfer to hospital and nobody else was injured.’
The driver of the white Nissan is reported to have later attended hospital after he felt light-headed. and had suffered chest pains.
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