'Brutal' cyclist hit and run captured on video
- Published
The car suddenly accelerates and collides with the cyclist, then drives away without stopping
Police say there is not enough evidence to prosecute a hit-and-run driver who accelerated into a cyclist - despite the incident being captured on video.
The video clearly shows the car number plate, but it was a hire vehicle and Nottinghamshire Police said it cannot prove who was driving.
Instead, a man who was eligible to drive the car has been fined £150 for failing to provide driver details.
In a statement, the force said it was "disappointed" with the outcome.
The cyclist did not want to give his real name, but calls himself Reginald Scot on YouTube
The incident happened on 15 November 2014 but the victim has now posted the video online to highlight what he feels is a lack of justice.
"At the time there was an ongoing criminal investigation and I didn't want any footage that I released online to hamper that investigation," he said.
"It's left me feeling surprised at the injustice and the ability for criminals to get away with crimes so easily, especially those perpetrated against cyclists, and it's left the wider cycling community feeling totally betrayed.
"It would never put me off cycling but it has made me very annoyed at the fact that cyclists are being let down time and time again when it comes to justice."
He said he needed four months to recover from his injuries, with a further month of physiotherapy, having suffered a severe back injury and internal haemorrhaging.
The video shows the Volvo being driven behind the cyclist around a roundabout in Nottingham city centre.
The car follows the cyclist from a distance, but then suddenly accelerates and shunts the bicycle.
The camera falls to the ground and the cyclist can be heard groaning and breathing heavily.
Nottinghamshire Police said it had investigated the incident thoroughly.
"While we share the victim's disappointment at the outcome, we feel the investigating police officer made every effort to ensure that the occupants of the car were found and brought before the courts," the force said in a statement.
'Not enough evidence'
- Nottinghamshire Police said the investigating officer established the car was a hire vehicle that had been sub-leased through a number of different companies
- The officer traced a man and a woman who were eligible to drive the car, so could have been driving on that day. The man and woman were issued with a formal request to provide the driver's details, but did not respond
- They were interviewed and summonsed to court for failing to stop at the scene of an accident, failing to report an accident and failing to respond to a legal request for driver details
- The evidence was then reviewed by the Crown Prosecution Service and a decision was made that there was not enough to prove who was driving the vehicle at the moment of the collision
- As a result, the prosecution for failing to stop and failing to report was discontinued. The 52-year-old man, from Nottingham, received six penalty points and a £150 fine for failing to provide driver details
- Published21 July 2014
- Published26 October 2015
