A woman has been left potentially scarred for life and ‘extremely traumatised’ after a speeding cyclist crashed into her on a Bermondsey pavement and then smiled as he fled the scene.
Bermondsey resident Andrea McVeigh was walking along Tower Bridge Road with her husband at around 6pm on April 14 when the ‘horrible’ accident occurred outside Sainsbury’s.
She said: “It was a very violent collision with no warning. He just crashed into me and ended up on top of me. I can’t really remember the accident, I just remember coming round with blood in my mouth and my finger pointing out at a right angle.”
When the police and an ambulance were called, the cyclist told Andrea and her husband that he was going to lock up his bike around the corner. Instead, he sped off through Bermondsey Square, pausing only to turn around and smile at Andrea’s husband, who was chasing and shouting, she said.
Andrea said: “I hope he gets tracked down and brought to justice. He just cycled off without any regard for how I was, thinking more about himself than his victim, and he probably went to work the next day thinking nothing more about it.”
She added:?“I’m shocked at what happened. He knew I wasn’t okay but just didn’t care. I have a feeling he was a nearby worker rather than a resident, because it was about 6 o’clock and he didn’t seem to know the roads very well.”
Andrea was brought to St Thomas’ Hospital where she was put in a neck brace and received X-rays and CT-scans. Her damaged fingers were strapped up and two cuts to her forehead, one which could leave a permanent scar, were treated. She finally left the hospital at 3.30am, around nine hours after the accident occurred.
Andrea said: “I’m now off sick, with physical and mental scars. I’m incredibly traumatised and shaken up. I feel vulnerable, as I hadn’t done anything wrong. The impact and aftermath was so violent, I’ve been in tears since and am suffering from anxiety. I don’t think I’ll ever get over this and the forehead scar will be a daily lifetime reminder of what happened.”
She said that the alleged suspect was a tall, white man with a shaved head. She believes was aged between 25 and 35 and was riding a racer bike.
A police spokesperson confirmed that an investigation into the incident was ongoing.
Anyone who witnessed the accident or has any information should contact police on 101 or Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800555111.