Hamilton cyclist calls on police to charge driver who hit him after 'extremely traumatic' run-in

A Hamilton cyclist says several weeks after a driver hit him with a pick-up truck, he says the incident has caused significant physical damage — and has damaged his sense of justice.  

"I essentially lost any feeling of justice or safety," Matthew Nicholson, told CBC Hamilton late last week. 

The collision took place on May 22 in Dundas, launching Nicholson from his bike and sending him skidding across pavement. He ended up with a fractured pelvis and called the incident "extremely traumatic."

Nearly a month later, Nicholson, 21, says he is hoping for some kind of accountability.

Hamilton police say they are investigating the incident but have not confirmed if they intend to charge the driver. 

Nicholson, who came to Hamilton from Prince Edward Island to study science at McMaster University, says the morning of May 22 started out well.

He and his friend were training for a triathlon and went out for a bike ride with Nicholson's brother. They left Westdale and travelled into Burlington, Ont., then through Hamilton's Greensville area before taking Sydenham Road. 

While riding down the steep hill on Sydenham — named Clara's Climb after Olympic cyclist Clara Hughes in 2013 — Nicholson says he heard loud engine noises and honking coming from behind him. He looked over his shoulder and saw an orange Toyota Tundra towing a silver trailer and coming up fast, its driver honking the horn, "gesturing aggressively" and shouting something. 

According to Nicholson, he was about half a metre from the right side of the road and moved over further as the truck approached. However, he said, the driver passed "incredibly closely" — just a few inches from his left shoulder. 

Upon passing him, the driver swerved, Nicholson says, and the trailer hit him in the hip, sending him flying. 

Nicholson says he was probably moving 50 kilometres per hour when he got hit, and was in the air for what felt like a long time. "I thought I was going to die."

When he hit the ground, Nicholson said he slid on the asphalt, scraping up his skin. He says his brother stopped to check if he was alive then called 911. His friend chased after the driver, catching up at a stop sign.

Nicholson says his friend told the driver he had to stay and wait for the police. Nicholson says his friend told him the driver accused the cyclists of taking up too much of the road. 

"He never once asked if I was OK. He didn't care," Nicholson said. The driver did wait for police however, he said.