Sunday, May 31, 2015

Hit & Run

UPDATE (25 November 2015): Sam Ralph of Taupaki, Auckland was charged, convicted and sentenced to 9 months home detention for 1) Assault with a blunt instrument (vehicle), and 2) Failure to stop and ascertain injury (hit and run). He also spent 2 months in police custody awaiting trial on domestic violence charges. Good riddance to him. 

Details of sentencing are below.

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Its been well over 6 months since I last blogged. I had a decent summer of training (although I didn't race), and I was just settling into an autumn training schedule when I was hit by a car 2 weeks ago.



7.45am on Sunday May 17, 2015. I was riding with 5 others from Rangitoto Rockets on a quiet country road in Taupaki. We were riding at 35-40kph on a 2-lane road that is flat and straight. Suddenly I heard a car's brakes lock-up immediately behind us. Thats very strange, I thought; there is no oncoming traffic. Within a couple of seconds the driver accelerated and pulled up next to me with about 50cm between us and the passenger window down. (The six of us were riding two abreast and I was at the front-right position). The driver shouted out "Get off the fuckin' road" at me. Within a split second he accelerated again but very suddenly swerved to the left. Although it all happened within a second or two, it very much felt like everything was moving in slow motion at the time. His ute and worktray were coming my way and I quickly realised that I had nowhere to go.