West Vancouver Police are seeking help from the public to identify a truck driver involved in a hit-and-run accident that left a cyclist seriously injured on Saturday.
Police said at about 8:30 p.m. Saturday evening, a cyclist in the 1900-block of Bellevue Avenue was hit by a westbound pick-up truck.
The cyclist was thrown from his bike into nearby parked cars and had his helmet knocked off in the collision.
Despite serious injury to the cyclist, witnesses reported that the driver sped off without stopping.
Video footage of the accident, captured on a surveillance camera from a residential building across the street, shows the cyclist riding correctly on the side of the traffic lane, said Const. Jeff Palmer, spokesman for the West Vancouver Police. As the cyclist passes two parked cars, what appears to be a dark-coloured truck speeds past, knocking the cyclist off the bicycle, then continues to drive off at significant speed.
The cyclist, a 48-year-old West Vancouver resident, was rushed to hospital with serious, but not life-threatening, injuries, said police. He is now recovering at home with multiple fractures, including broken ribs, said Palmer, and is still being assessed for head injuries.
Witnesses identified the vehicle involved in the accident as a large black pick-up truck, possibly a Ford F-150, driven by a middle-aged white man, said police.
Witnesses said the vehicle appeared to sustain damage to the passenger side in the collision, police added.
Police are working to identify the vehicle and driver, as well as to determine if there may have been any earlier conflict between the cyclist and the driver. Police are asking anyone who may have witnessed unusual interactions or behaviour by either a driver or cyclist near Ambleside Park or John Lawson Park to call investigators.
Palmer said so far there’s no indication the two had crossed paths earlier, but added, “We would just like to be very thorough. They’re both coming from the same direction. There’s not a good explanation for why the vehicle wouldn’t be giving good clearance.”
