Cyclist chased, kicked, slingshotted into parked car by angry man on illegal dirt bike in Panmure

A cyclist was “slingshotted” off his bike and badly injured when a man hooning in the street on an illegal dirtbike took umbrage at his “antisocial” behaviour being photographed. Six months on police have struggled to identify the alleged offender and the victim says he has “lost faith in humanity and law and order”. On June 6 the cyclist – who did not want his name published for fear of retribution – was on a training ride in Matapan Road in Panmure when he saw the dirt bike being ridden on the street.

It had no registration plates and the driver had no helmet. The cyclist recalled hearing on the radio news just a day earlier that police were cracking down on illegal dirt bikes in Auckland, and had appealed for the public to send in photos of any activity they saw. “So, while I was riding my bike, I thought ‘you know, that’s what I’ll do .

. . and I vividly remember thinking, is this a smart thing to do?” the cyclist said.

“I thought I was just going to ride past the section where this guy just pulled in and just pretend to be taking a selfie and . . .

what could possibly go wrong?” As the cyclist rode past and took his photograph the dirtbike rider – who was standing with a group of other people – spotted him and realised what was going on. The man got back on the dirt bike and chased after the cyclist. “He pursued me and abused me and threatened me – yelling ‘get off the bike and fight like a man’,” he explained.

“I was like ‘oh my God, this is unbelievable’. “He rode past me twice trying to sort of push me off the bike and I evaded him . .

. meanwhile, while all this was going on, I was videoing him and taking other pictures. “Eventually I turned a corner onto (Kings Road) and unfortunately, on that street, there were no pedestrians, no cars, no nothing .

. . so he became really brave.

“He came up from behind me and basically, what he must have done is he must have stretched on his left foot while riding on the dirt bike, put his foot on the back of my bike and then accelerated – and then he just slingshotted me into a parked car. ” The dirt bike rider took off as the cyclist smashed through the back windscreen of the car near number 75 Kings Road. He is unsure if he was knocked out.

“Pretty much immediately two people showed up . . .

one was a builder who said ‘oh, I saw you riding and I saw the motorbike rider pursuing you so I just turned my ute around and I chased both of you’,” the cyclist said. “I thought ‘you see the very worst of society, this bike rider and you see the very best of society, the builder within . .

. 20 seconds of each other’. ” The builder took the cyclist home and then he went to the emergency department to get checked out.

He had a broken kneecap and finger and was covered in cuts, bruises and blood. Later he discovered he had a concussion which as taken him the last six months to recover from. He works in education and his career has been deeply impacted by the concussion – the inability to work full-time, to focus and to process basic concepts.

He was off full-time work for 17 weeks. “I thought ‘my God, will I ever come back from this’?” he said. “But I think I’m pretty much back to normal now, which is good.

” The cyclist made a statement to police who went to the address where he’d seen the dirt biker and spoke to the occupants. They said they did not know him, that he was effectively just a random associate. Despite the clear footage police could not identify the man on the dirt bike.

The cyclist said police contacted him a couple of times after the incident but were “hamstrung” and the investigation had gone nowhere. “The irony of it is I did this whole thing because I heard police saying that having pictures would help them identify these people,” he said. “I don’t blame the police, to be honest, because how do you identify a person who was, you know, in a hoodie on a motorbike with no number plate? You just can’t.

” “What it’s shown to me is that the police are really trying, but they’re completely hamstrung . . .

by systems that are just not able to deal with crimes . . .

basically, they spent a whole bunch of time and have nothing to show for it. ” The cyclist said he hoped someone would see his story and recognise the dirt biker and report him. He said the incident was “pretty bad” and gave him a scare.

“I was pretty shaken . . .

I can’t watch the footage, I have not watched it – I can’t bear to look at it,” he said. “This definitely shook my beliefs in humanity and law and order. ” He said he would think twice before photographing bad behaviour in public again.

“Would I do this again? No – I have definitely suffered from this,” he said. Police confirmed the dirt bike rider had not yet been found – despite photos of him being posted on the Auckland City Police District Facebook page. “Following inquiries in the area – including at the address nominated – the identity of the person has not been established and no charges have been laid,” said a spokesperson today.

“Police ask anyone with any information that will help us progress this inquiry to contact us. ” CAN YOU HELP IDENTIFY THE DIRT BIKE RIDER? If you know who this dirt bike rider is contact the police non-emergency reporting line on 105. You can also make a report online – click here to go to the police 105 website.

Quote file number 230610/2328. Anna Leask is a Christchurch-based reporter who covers national crime and justice. She joined the Herald in 2008 and has worked as a journalist for 18 years.

She writes, hosts and produces the award-winning podcast A Moment In Crime , released monthly on nzherald. co. nz.