A former police officer and cyclist says a driver threatened to “knock him off and kill him,” before allegedly driving his car into the rider and injuring him.
Mike Edge was out riding his bike in North Wales on Sunday, April 25, when he says the driver of the car approached him in the opposite direction.
Mr Edge, a former police inspector for North Wales Police, said he expected the driver to pull in as he approached, as there were parked cars on his side of the road, but instead Mr Edge was forced to pull into a lay-by to avoid being hit.
After initially thinking nothing of the interaction, as “most rides this sort of behaviour is common,” Mr Edge said the same driver then pulled alongside him shortly after.
“The driver said he was going to knock me off and kill me,” Mr Edge told Cycling Weekly, “he then swerved his car into me, making contact, causing me to come off the bike. This caused injuries to my elbow, hip and knee, as well as damage to my bike, equipment and clothes. The driver drove off.”
Mr Edge returned home and swiftly contacted his old force North Wales Police to report the incident, stressing to officers that this was “a deliberate act and the driver made threats and used his vehicle as a weapon.” He then went to hospital for treatment.
After a delayed response from police, Mr Edge raised concerns about how the case was handled by officers, asking why police “have given no priority to a cyclist being threatened and hit by a car.”
Mr Edge added: "Luckily my injuries were relatively minor, but they could have been life-changing or fatal.”
Following his initial report, Mr Edge said he struggled to get a response from police and that he was initially told the incident had been classed as a “low priority road traffic collision.”
He then began his own investigation and was able to obtain CCTV footage of the driver passing him the first time and then turning around to head back in the other direction, the full registration number of the car and details of a potential witness.
Then three days after the incident, Mr Edge went back to his doctor as his injuries appeared to have got worse, and his doctor believes he may have a prolapsed in his neck as a result of hitting his head on the car or the road.
Mr Edge also calculated the full cost of the damage to his bike, clothes and equipment, estimating the total to be around £1,165, as he will have to replace his helmet, his Castelli riding clothing, his Oakely Jawbreaker glasses and his Shimano S-Phyre road shoes.
His bike, a Cannondale Hi Mod System Six Dura Ace, was also damaged, and is irreplaceable as it has sentimental value, having been bought with money left by Mr Edge’s father, who died in 2016.
Since the crash, North Wales Police have now taken a full statement from Mr Edge and are investigating.
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A spokesperson for the force said: “North Wales Police takes every report of this nature very seriously. We have a structured investigation process, and this is being followed in this instance.
“As there is an ongoing investigation, with the imminent prospect of prosecution, it would be inappropriate to comment further."
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