“I said to her, ‘I was there. Got it on my dash cam.’ And she was like, ‘I don’t believe you.’ And she left, ”said Cam Pursel.
Pursel’s dashcam video captured a car and bicycle contacting the Spring Garden Bridge on Thursday morning, but the driver kept driving, leaving the cyclist on the ground.
“I drove on, and I see this guy roll over next to me as this car passes by, and I think it’s weird that he could have just broken a lot of bones,” said Pursel.
Pursel hit the accelerator and followed the driver on I-76 with his dashcam still rolling. Finally, the woman pulled up behind the wheel.
“She says, ‘Hey, what’s going on? Why are you following me?’ And I’m like, “You just hit someone. You should probably go back and see if they’re okay. “And she said, ‘I didn’t hit anyone,'” said Pursel.
Philadelphia police said the video is clear and shows that the two made contact by adding that the woman’s right mirror has been pushed in. Police also said the cyclist is lucky to be alive.
“It is possible that the driver did not know immediately, but if you watch that video carefully, you can almost see the driver coming to a stop before entering the driveway and then driving away again,” said Captain Mark Overwijs, with the police of the police. from Philadelphia.
That’s why cyclists like Joe Cox, a bike delivery driver, have a bold sign on his bike that requires cars to keep a distance of four feet from him. If you’re driving a car in Pennsylvania and you want to pass a cyclist on the street, state law requires you to give him four feet.
Bike Coalition of Greater Philadelphia told Action News that streets have become empty due to the pandemic, speeds have increased leading to an increase in the number of bicycle fatalities in traffic in 2020.
“You have to be very aggressive and defensive on a bike in Philadelphia, because you don’t know how the driver will behave,” said Cox.
Police said the cyclist should come forward and file a report and hold the driver to account.
Police said the cyclist was doing nothing wrong with regard to where he was riding because he was on a bike path.
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