A SUSPECTED hit-and-run by a bike rider that saw 83-year-old Swansea local legend John Mclain hospitalised with a fractured cheekbone, rib and a bleed in his sinus has left the community reeling.
His daughter, Rhylee Mclain-Robinson has one message for bike riders in the wake of the incident - to please, please slow down.
"We don't have a problem with the fact that it happened, but if the person did hit him and didn't stop that's pretty horrible," she said.
"Dad's very adamant that nobody should be blamed, but we do want the message to go out for bike riders to be more careful and make sure they're ringing their bells.
"He's been very, very lucky, dad doesn't want to press charges, but I think the main thing is that a lot of people have had close shaves along there and bikers shouldn't be doing the speeds they're doing."
Mr Mclain was out on his daily five kilometre run around Swansea on Monday when it's believed he was struck by a bicycle on Bowman Street near the Black Swan Motel about 7am - just 150m from his home.
Onlookers thankfully rushed to his aid, but in his true "tough as nails" fashion, the "consummate gentleman" walked home with the people who helped him and even opened the gate for the ambulance.
Ms Mclain-Robinson said she's still hoping to speak to a woman who witnessed the incident, and said CCTV footage had shown a bike rider in a fluorescent green outfit on the street at the same time.
"There is a guy headed toward them at the right time matching the description, but dad doesn't want to press charges," she said.
"Dad has been running for 50 years throughout Swansea, he's a real goer.
"It's just, he's very fortunate, any other 83-year-old who isn't fit like he is wouldn't come back from it, a fall like that.
"When they X-Rayed his body, they were mainly concerned about his pelvis and hips because of his age, but all they saw was $2.50 in his pocket for his Herald he gets on the way home."
Ms Mclain-Robinson said she would like to see more signage installed warning bikers to take care and to use their bells on the shared footpath.
"Cars are backing out of there, people are walking or jogging and there's mothers with babies in prams," she said.
"It's so busy, there's cars coming out of driveways so people really shouldn't be going at high speeds.
"Dad says he tries as much as possible to run on the grass because it causes less dramas and it's easier on his body, but there are certain areas where you have to run on the path."
Mr Mclain is a well-known Swansea figure, having owned the Ampol for 30 years and racking up more than 300 parkruns - so far.
Ms Mclain-Robinson said it's been incredibly heart-warming to see all of the support from the community.
"I think if this person did it and they kept going, that's just horrendous, it's like, where's your human spirit?" she said.
"But the response has been unbelievable, everyone knows him so it was never going to be something that went quietly.
"But, dad is very humble and he's ultimately the consummate gentleman, he doesn't want to cause a fuss and he's the kind of person who thinks there must be a good explanation for why it happened.
"He's a great bloke and everyone loves him, I know what he would want to come out of it is a message on safety, not to point fingers, he doesn't see the use in that and if the rider knows he did it, he has to live with that."
The incident doesn't seem to have slowed Mr Mclain down, after he was seen hitting the pavement on Thursday morning getting back to what he loves most.
"It was a big scare but dad's very fortunate, if he didn't have the bone density he has from all the years of running he might have broken a hip and at that age it's all over red rover," she said.
"10 years ago he was riding his bike at Caves Beach and he got hit by a truck and went through the windscreen, so he's tough.
"There's not too much that holds him down, he had a quadruple bypass a few years ago and he was running three weeks later - we're still looking for the batteries, we're not convinced he's human."
Lake Macquarie police said they had not been made aware of the incident.
