Tamyka Bell
June 1st 06, 12:18 AM
Front Page Feature
Howick and Pakuranga Times
http://tinyurl.com/pbvud
Injured cyclist left stunned as driver scarpers
By NIC DALEY
Thursday, 01 June 2006
A CYCLIST was left stunned and barely able to stagger after a 4WD
ploughed into him and the driver failed to stop at the accident last
week.
Whitford resident Matt Hinton, 20, was riding his road-racing bike down
Pakuranga Rd just after 6pm last Thursday, when a 4WD turned in front
of him, knocking him to the ground.
"I was approaching William Roberts Rd and one car turned in front of
me, which was all right, but then the car behind him followed," Mr
Hinton says.
"That was the one that basically collected me on the side."
He was taken to hospital after suffering moderate injuries.
"I got two fractured vertebrae in my back, and one side of my upper
leg is all grazed and has road rash and is raw.
"The other side of my upper leg also got road rash and what looks
like tyre burn marks from the car."
However Mr Hinton says he's not too concerned about his injuries,
rather that the offending driver did not stop.
"The guy's obviously done a criminal offence and he hasn't
stopped at the scene of an accident where potentially I could have
died. He didn't stop at all, just kept going."
He wants the driver to come forward, or any witnesses to the incident
to contact police.
"He was lucky to miss my leg," he says.
"There wasn't anything I could do, I couldn't brake or avoid it.
"I thought initially he may stop but he didn't, so I just tried to
loosen up and slide with it."
The driver behind the 4WD assisted Mr Hinton, but didn't get the rego
of the 4WD.
"She saw him hit me and me go flying, and she stopped and made sure I
was okay."
The racing bicycle, which had lights on the front and rear, was
extensively damaged.
And Mr Hinton, told to rest for some weeks, is unsure as to how he will
sit university exams.
He has been cycling for about five years and rides competitively in
Counties Manukau.
He also organises the Botany Bunch, a social group riding from the
Botany Town Centre.
He says another member of the bunch was hit on the same road earlier
this year, and hopes this incident won't change how he feels on the
road.
Any information on a dark coloured 4WD to Howick police, 538-0300.
[Photo caption: Injured cyclist Matt Hinton is disappointed the driver
who knocked him off his bike did not stop. Times photo Michelle Hyslop]
Howick and Pakuranga Times
http://tinyurl.com/pbvud
Injured cyclist left stunned as driver scarpers
By NIC DALEY
Thursday, 01 June 2006
A CYCLIST was left stunned and barely able to stagger after a 4WD
ploughed into him and the driver failed to stop at the accident last
week.
Whitford resident Matt Hinton, 20, was riding his road-racing bike down
Pakuranga Rd just after 6pm last Thursday, when a 4WD turned in front
of him, knocking him to the ground.
"I was approaching William Roberts Rd and one car turned in front of
me, which was all right, but then the car behind him followed," Mr
Hinton says.
"That was the one that basically collected me on the side."
He was taken to hospital after suffering moderate injuries.
"I got two fractured vertebrae in my back, and one side of my upper
leg is all grazed and has road rash and is raw.
"The other side of my upper leg also got road rash and what looks
like tyre burn marks from the car."
However Mr Hinton says he's not too concerned about his injuries,
rather that the offending driver did not stop.
"The guy's obviously done a criminal offence and he hasn't
stopped at the scene of an accident where potentially I could have
died. He didn't stop at all, just kept going."
He wants the driver to come forward, or any witnesses to the incident
to contact police.
"He was lucky to miss my leg," he says.
"There wasn't anything I could do, I couldn't brake or avoid it.
"I thought initially he may stop but he didn't, so I just tried to
loosen up and slide with it."
The driver behind the 4WD assisted Mr Hinton, but didn't get the rego
of the 4WD.
"She saw him hit me and me go flying, and she stopped and made sure I
was okay."
The racing bicycle, which had lights on the front and rear, was
extensively damaged.
And Mr Hinton, told to rest for some weeks, is unsure as to how he will
sit university exams.
He has been cycling for about five years and rides competitively in
Counties Manukau.
He also organises the Botany Bunch, a social group riding from the
Botany Town Centre.
He says another member of the bunch was hit on the same road earlier
this year, and hopes this incident won't change how he feels on the
road.
Any information on a dark coloured 4WD to Howick police, 538-0300.
[Photo caption: Injured cyclist Matt Hinton is disappointed the driver
who knocked him off his bike did not stop. Times photo Michelle Hyslop]