London cyclist rammed by 4×4 driver explains what led up to his bike being crushed

The cyclist involved in a video that went viral on social media this week, in which the driver of an SUV drove straight at him at a junction in north west London, crushing his bike, has explained to road.cc the background of the incident – and why he decided to accept a Community Resolution, rather than pressing charges for assault.

The shocking incident happened last Sunday at the junction of Kilburn High Road and Brondesbury Villas, with footage shared to social media from two different angles, both clips beginning when the cyclist was already on the phone to the police and standing in front of the vehicle.

> Driver rams cyclist and crushes bike during dispute

A neighbor shared this with me earlier – very dangerous behaviour by the driver. I know police were called. #RoadRage #suv #cycling #usingcarasclub @LifeInKilburn @MPSQueensPark pic.twitter.com/nM12rVQjEs

— Birgir Magnússon (@BMagnsson) November 13, 2022

Some people responding to those posts on social media wondered why the cyclist was standing in front of the car – but to anyone who rides a bike and is familiar with this type of footage, it would have been clear that something must have happened before the cameraphones started rolling, which the rider, who wishes to remain anonymous, confirmed to us.

“Yes, I was on the phone to the police,” he said, “here’s what happened. I was cycling northbound on Kilburn High Road, the driver tried to turn across me into Brondesbury Road.

“He did managed to stop without hitting me, but I stopped to tell him he needed to be more careful, he immediately moved forward fairly slowly, pushing me and the bike a metre or less, I said now I needed his insurance details as he may have damaged my front wheel.

“He exited the vehicle and shoved me to the ground, that’s why in the videos my bike is no longer facing north.

“Then the part on the videos happened, plus a further attempt to leave with the bike stuck under his car, and some of the crowd encouraging the driver to ‘get away before the feds [police] come’, it was them that actually pulled the bike out from the car as an attempt to assist his escape.”

The cyclist, who lives in south London, added: “This isn’t a regular route for me, but is a road I’m familiar with, on Sunday afternoon I had intended to visit a friend in Kings Langley, about a 50 mile round trip. I only made it 7 miles.”

Among those sharing the videos on social media this week was the broadcaster and cycling advocate Jeremy Vine, and some people replying to his video – at least, the ones who did not confuse the victim with CyclingMikey – wondered why the issue had been settled by means of community resolution, rather than the Metropolitan Police Service referring the incident to the Crown Prosecution Service.

It’s not even being prosecuted

Met police said “The matter was concluded by way of a community resolution order issued to the driver, who also agreed to pay compensation for the damage to the man.”https://t.co/MmXzqHGRve

— Matt Eason (@MattEason) November 16, 2022

But the cyclist told road.cc that as far as he understands it, police may be pursuing a dangerous driving charge, although as far as the assault element was concerned, he had decided to accept community resolution because it was the simplest and quickest way of being compensated for the destruction of his bike, worth more than £2,500.

“What the police at the scene said was that the dangerous driving would be passed to the Met Traffic unit with a view to prosecution, while the separate offence of common assault could be dealt with by being passed to the CPS or by way of the CRO [Community Resolution Order], he said.

“I’m aware there are other routes to compensation (eg the MIB [Motor Insurers’ Bureau, which applies in cases in which the driver is uninsured]) but they are likely much longer and if the driver doesn’t pay up he could still be prosecuted for the assault.”

In a statement earlier this week, the Metropolitan Police said: “A man reported that his bicycle had been run over by a car following a verbal dispute with the driver. The man did not sustain any injuries,” the spokesperson said.

“The matter was concluded by way of a community resolution order issued to the driver, who also agreed to pay compensation for the damage to the man.”

The cyclist told us: “I can’t tell if the statement to the press is incomplete/incorrect about the outcome(s).

“The reason the driver wasn’t arrested at the scene was that he had young children in the car,” he added.



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