Cyclist seriously injured by auto passenger

A 59 year-old cyclist in Bromley, Kent, England, was seriously injured when a rider in a passing car reached out and pushed him off his bike, cyclingweekly.co.uk reported. Tony Barrett suffered serious neck and back injuries and at first was thought to be paralyzed.

Barrett was able to tell police that a car went by him and that he felt two hands push him. He lost consciousness when he hit his head in falling. He was out riding with a friend, Bob Barrington, who had ridden ahead and then stopped to wait. "A lady in a car stopped and asked me if I was waiting for another cyclist," Barrington told Cycling Weekly. "When I said yes, she said there had been an accident with a car. I hurried back and found Tony by the side of the road."

Detective Sergeant James Herron of the Bromley police said "This is a very serious incident and if we catch the person who did this they are facing a charge of GBH [Grievous Bodily Harm -ed.]" He added that the section of road where the incident occurred was notorious for fast-moving vehicles. Similar incidents have also been reported.