'How can you drive into cyclists?'
2009-01-12 08:22
Hilda Fourie
Pretoria - A cyclist has described how he heard screeching brakes and then felt a knock, as a police car drove into him.
Frans Potgieter, 50, of Wonderboom in the north of Pretoria, was participating in a cycle race organised by the Vissershoek Primary School on Saturday morning.
He and a group of six cyclists were on Brits Avenue in the north of Pretoria, when the accident happened. Three cyclists were riding in front of Potgieter and two were behind him. Potgieter said he was riding a little more into the road than the others.
"I heard the screeching brakes and then felt the knock," he said.
"A policeman from Hartbeespoort had driven into me from behind and pushed me along.
"I thought he was going to drive right over me.
"As he knocked me forward, I bumped into the rider in front of me, who in turn knocked into the one in front of her. My back wheel broke. My bike collapsed and I landed on the road on my backside.
"The police vehicle came to a standstill about a metre from my head."
Hospitalised
Potgieter and the two women riders in front of him were taken to hospital.
He had injured his back and bottom. One of the women had broken her right foot and little toe, had to get stitches in her right arm and had injured her ribs. The other woman had severe grazes.
Al three were discharged later on Saturday.
Potgieter said the damage to the bicycles amounted to hundreds of rand.
"It shows you people don't watch the road when they drive," Potgieter said.
"You don't even drive that close to a car. Why would you drive that close to a bicycle?"
Complaint
Jakkie Louw, organiser of the cycle race, said they were going to lodge a complaint with the Independent Complaints Directorate.
Louw said the policeman had told him he hadn't noticed the cyclists on the road.
"Before the accident, he passed about 50 cyclists, so he knew there were cyclists on the road," Louw said.
"How can you just drive into a bunch of cyclists? How is it that you don't see others on the road?"
Police spokesperson Inspector Dikatso Thebe confirmed the accident.
- Beeld