A cyclist was injured after a driver pulled a sudden U-turn in Downtown Brooklyn on Wednesday, before nearly backing into a second cyclist a few minutes later, according to the victims.
“I’m a life long New Yorker and rider. I have never experienced that,” said Jeff Dalton, a Kensington resident, who was injured in the collision.
Dalton said he was pedaling northbound on Smith Street between Livingston and Fulton streets at around 9:45 am, when the driver attempted the U-turn across Smith Street.
But the maneuver was obscured by an idling bus, according to Dalton, who said he smashed into the car head on.
“Because of the bus everything was blocked, I can’t see… all of a sudden this guy pops out in a U-turn. I hit him straight on, right in the middle of the lane,” explained Dalton.
A group of cyclists stopped to assist Dalton as he lay on Smith Street clutching his groin, including Rachel Wolfe, who asked the driver to write down his name and insurance information.
However, as Dalton picked himself up, Wolfe began making her way to the sidewalk, when the motorist nearly ran her down as he backed out of the northbound lane. “As I was pulling my bike to the side, he backed up into me!” Wolfe explained. “Not a good day for him.”
Dalton did not call police following the collision, saying he doesn’t trust the criminal justice system, and later shook hands with the driver, with whom he pleaded to drive safely.
“I don’t like the police, I don’t know what to do, except you should learn from this lesson and drive safer,” Dalton told the motorist.
Afterwards, the driver admitted he was unaware of nearly backing into Wolfe, and when asked about the near miss, he said, “I did?”
There are 53 parking and camera violations attached to the driver’s license plate number, including three camera violations for speeding in a school zone, which have altogether resulted in $4,753 in fines, according to Twitter-based search database How’s My Driving NY.
