Matthew Nicholson says he thought he was going to die when a man in an orange Toyota Tundra knocked him from his bike on the Sydenham hill.
“I flew through the air for a little bit, then I landed very hard on the asphalt and I slid for about 25 feet before coming to a stop,” he told FlamboroughToday.
Nicholson, who lives in west Hamilton, was biking down the hill where Flamborough enters Dundas with his brother and his friend on May 22 when an “aggressive driver” got behind them. The hill is a popular spot for cyclists and hikers, with a lookout point at its top that faces Dundas, the valley and the Niagara Escarpment.
“We flipped him off when he started honking at us and swerving because obviously he was being incredibly dangerous and aggressive,” Nicholson said.
Sydenham hill has a 50km/h speed limit, which Hamilton police confirmed Nicholson and his friends were traveling at when the man got behind them.
Nicholson said he was beginning to pull to the side to let the man pass. He alleges the driver purposefully swerved to hit him. He said a trailer the driver was towing clipped him and knocked him off his bike.
Hamilton police did not confirm the identity of the driver or his intent, but said he was charged with improper passing.
Nicholson says that after he was hit, the driver kept going. His friend chased the SUV down with the help of another driver who saw the incident, while Nicholson’s brother stayed with him and called 9-1-1.
Nicholson has a fractured elbow and hip, and deep bruises and injuries from hitting the pavement. He says when he was thrown from his bike, he thought he was going to die.
Nicholson said he felt the driver’s intention was clear, and that he was hit on purpose.
“If you hit someone in your car with the intention to harm them, that is attempted murder and a bike lane wouldn't change the fact that it's attempted murder."
His lawyer, Dave Shellnut, says other cyclists should be wary of who they are sharing the road with.
“We've been reaching out and trying to let people know that this person's in the area, and if they're on bikes, they ought to be careful,” he said.
Nicholson’s road to recovery will take a few months, he said, and while he heals his summer has been put on the back burner. He said he is now unable to work his summer job at a French language camp, and won’t be able to spend the next few months out in nature, being active, like he planned.
“Since high school I've been planning with my friends to hike the West Coast Trail at the end of the summer, which I've had to cancel because with my recovery that won't be possible. Just that alone was a huge loss,” he said.
