San Francisco

Caught on Cam: SFPD Car Hits Cyclist on Bike to Work Day

The San Francisco Police Department is investigating dashcam video that appears to show one of their patrol cars hitting a cyclist in downtown San Francisco.

The video – posted on YouTube – was captured with Nexar, an app that turns your phone into a smart dashcam.

The video shows the cyclist going down Second Street on a green bike lane, when the police car turns  left into the bike lane and collides with him. The driver can be seen getting out of the car and bending down to look at the cyclist.

According to SFPD, the incident occurred Thursday – the day San Francisco celebrated its 22nd annual Bike to Work Day – at the intersection of Mission and Fourth Streets. SFPD spokesperson Officer Grace Gatpandan said that the accident was being investigated both as a collision and as administrative in nature. She said that the officer summoned medics who transported the bicyclist from the scene.

Nexar, however, said that the accident happened at the intersection of 2nd and Mission.

On Youtube, commenters weighed in on the video, taking sides. While some said the person driving the police car was 100 percent at fault, while others said that the cyclist should have slowed down when he saw the yellow light.

“Cop was clearly at fault, but maybe in the future you should start to slow down when you see you a yellow light, not speed up,” one commenter said.

At one point, someone who identifies himself as the cyclist with the name Timothy Doyle responds to the comments in the thread, writing: “I am that cyclist. I am Tim Doyle. I was going 25 mph. I had no time to react. The cop car was completely in the wrong. It cleaned me out and sent me flying 15 feet. I have two broken ribs, a huge leg injury etc. I got out of SF General today at 4 in the morning. And some readers are saying I am at fault?”

“Sorry but 25mph is too fast in town,” one commenter responded. “Try that in Holland and people will call the nearest mental clinic to ask if a patient is missing. Nothing to do with the speed limit. Just common sense. Bicycles are not cars. Never were, never will be. We can all witness the result. No time to react for you, no time to react for drivers.”

Doyle in an interview with NBC Bay Area said the officer made a mistake and needs to be careful. He suffered a fracture and a leg injury.

"Luckily I had my helmet on," he said. "I think I landed on my back."

The avid cyclist said he has a fractured bone in his back and a painful gash in his leg.

San Francisco police officials said the officer involved in the collision was not responding to an emergency.

"They didn't do it intentionally," Doyle said of the officer. "They made a mistake and didn't see me for sure."

Doyle said he will be laid up for days and will need a new bike.

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