A doctor was left bloodied, bruised and in shock on the ground after an e-bike rider hit her at speed at a Newcastle pedestrian crossing, with her concerned daughter now calling for change.
Natasha, whose last name has been withheld to protect her mother's identity, said the incident on the morning of Tuesday, June 16, happened quickly.
Her GP mother was riding her own e-bike to work when she stopped at the Throsby Creek crossing on Hannell Street to push the button and wait.
Natasha said another e-bike rider, who appeared to be a teenage boy, came flying from behind her in a bid to cross the road before the lights changed and traffic began moving again.
She said the e-bike rider struck the woman's own bicycle wheel, causing her to slam into the pavement face-first and injure her left side.
"The force to hit her wheel and cause her to go catapulting over the handlebars, he would have been going very fast," Natasha said.
"It was just lucky the cars were stopped."
Natasha said it was disheartening that the e-bike rider continued on his way without stopping, and that no one in the vehicles helped.
"Somebody could have just got out and come to check on her, it was just sad that people wouldn't and nobody did anything," she said.
Read also:
Natasha's mother hurt her nose and chin, suffered grazes and bruising, and damaged her left knee and hand in the crash.
Her ability to perform stitching and procedures she normally would as a GP was in question while her hand was swollen and she had a tendon injury, Natasha said.
Her mother, who is aged in her 60s, was embarrassed and did not want to make a fuss, so she managed to get up and back on the bike. Her colleagues helped patch her up at the medical centre.
"She's in a lot of shock. I think it's really knocked her self-esteem to rider her bike ... I think she's processing what has happened," Natasha said.
Natasha said she was speaking out to call for change.
It was only two days before the incident that Natasha was caught up in total mayhem at Mayfield when trail bike riders and crowds descended on Dangar Park for an event run by streetwear brand Bad Apples.
Natasha said she saw two boys on an e-bike that looked like a motorbike swerve through traffic, perform wheelies, taunt the police, and run a red light, all without helmets.
"Irresponsible e-bike riders have no fear for police or authority because they know they can easily get away," she said.
"It's out of control ... something needs to be done about the speed that these bikes can get to.
"I would just love for them to slow down and to be more cautious of their surroundings."
There are legal restrictions on e-bikes in NSW.
