The Manly Daily: Hit-and-run cyclist
NEWS TRANSPORT & TRAFFIC
22 JAN 10 @ 03:52PM BY JESSE PHILLIPS
DENISE Gunn wants cyclists to be made to register their bikes if they want to use public roads.
She hit a rider yesterday who, she said, ran a red light and then fled the scene of the accident.
Ms Gunn’s car was damaged in the collision, which she said was the cyclist’s fault, and now she is looking at a repair bill in excess of $1000 – which she can’t afford.
Ms Gunn, from Elanora Heights, said she was driving south on the Wakehurst Parkway approaching the Warringah Rd intersection on a green light when a cyclist, who was travelling east on Warringah Rd, ran a red light.
She said she had no time to react and hit the bike’s front tyre. “I just screamed, I didn’t know if I’d killed him,” she said.
After the collision, a shaken Ms Gunn said she pulled over on the left-hand side of the Wakehurst Parkway. “But all a sudden he just took off, wheeling his bike on its rear wheel,” she said.
The rider appeared unhurt and Ms Gunn said she attempted to chase after him to get his details.
“I hitched a ride with another woman and I thought I saw him heading down Allambie Rd but I can’t be sure,” she said.
After returning to her car she found extensive damage to the front bumper and a smashed right rear-view mirror. “I’ve only got third-party insurance and I can’t afford to get my car fixed. He just took off – he’s walked away and left me with the bill,” Ms Gunn said.
“As far as I’m concerned he’s broken two laws – he’s run a red light and fled the scene of an accident.”
Ms Gunn said if he had been registered people could have noted his details, forcing him to be accountable for the accident.
She reported the incident to Mosman police, who confirmed they had received a report of the accident.
Ms Gunn stressed she was not “anti-cyclists” but was fed up with them ignoring the road rules.
