A man who was filmed pushing a female cyclist into the path of traffic on a busy London road in May has turned himself into the police.
He was captured shouting abuse, chasing and then pushing her to the ground on a camera mounted on her helmet.
Reports say that she had asked him not to cross the road until she had passed. The man is not visible in all of the footage as the woman was trying to keep her eye on the road, but he is clearly heard shouting and swearing at the woman, in her early 40s, before chasing her down the road in Whitechapel, East London.
He approached her as she slowed down at a junction, called her a “mug” and then shoved her to the ground. The cyclist cried out and clearly sounded distressed and injured.
Although she was upset, the woman did not need medical treatment. Upon getting herself and her bike to safety, she contacted the police and handed over the footage which was later released to help find the man.
Paul Kitson from cycling charity CTC has said “While the film clip is shocking, this is unfortunately not an isolated incident.”
He goes on to say “I have come across examples of cyclists being deliberately pushed off their bikes by passengers from passing cars, motorists attempting to push a cyclist into oncoming traffic and even using their vehicle as a weapon.
“When a pedestrian deliberately pushes a cyclist off a bike this is a criminal act. The appropriate offence depends upon the extent of the injury.”
The Metropolitan Police have said in a statement that a 33-year-old man had attended Bethnal Green Police station on Tuesday afternoon and identified himself as the man in the video. While not arrested, he would be interviewed “in due course” by officers from Tower Hamlets
