“I said to her, ‘I was right there. I got it on the panel camera ‘. And she said, ‘I don’t believe you.’ And she left, “said Cam Pursel.
The video from Pursel’s camera captured a car and bicycle that came into contact on the Spring Garden bridge on Thursday morning, but the driver continued and left the cyclist on the ground.
“I was driving and I saw a guy overturning beside me as the car drove by, and I think it’s strange that he could have broken like a pile of bones,” said Pursel.
Pursel stepped on the gas and followed the driver on I-76 with the camera still running. Eventually, the woman behind the wheel stopped.
“She’s like, ‘Hey, what’s going on? Why are you following me? ‘ And I was like, ‘You just hit someone. You should probably go back and see if they are okay. ‘ And she said, ‘I didn’t hit anyone,’ “said Pursel.
Philadelphia police said the video was clear, showing that the two made contact with each other, adding that the woman’s right mirror was pushed inside. Police also said the cyclist was lucky to be alive.
“It is possible that the driver did not know immediately, but if you look at the video closely, you will see that the driver almost stopped before entering the ramp and then left again,” said Captain Mark Excessively, with the Investigation Division of Philadelphia police accidents.
That’s why cyclists like Joe Cox, a bicycle food delivery driver, have a bold sign on their bike indicating that cars should keep a meter away from them. If you are driving in Pennsylvania and want to overtake a cyclist on the street, state law requires you to give him more than a meter.
The Bike Coalition of Greater Philadelphia told Action News that the streets were empty because of the pandemic and speeds increased, leading to an increase in bicycle deaths in traffic in 2020.
“You have to be very aggressive and defensive when cycling in Philadelphia because you don’t know how the driver is going to act,” said Cox.
Police said the rider needs to report, report and hold the driver accountable.
Police said the cyclist was not doing anything wrong in relation to where he was cycling, as he was on a bike path.
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