Cyclist captures video of close call with motorist
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COBB COUNTY, Georgia (WGCL) — Police are trying to track down the driver whose pick-up truck came within inches of knocking a bicyclist off his bike earlier this month.
Avid cyclist Mike Buteau captured video of the April 2 incident with one of two cameras he’d mounted on his bicycle.
“I felt a car go by literally right on my shoulder, my elbow,” said Buteau, “and then he [the driver] unfortunately came even closer to a friend who was riding in front of me.”
Buteau said he believes the close call was intentional.
“It’s what we call a in cycling a ‘lesson pass.’ Somebody’s trying to teach you a lesson,” he said.
Buteau and the his two friends riding with him that day caught up with the driver at the next red light.
“We expressed our – let’s just say – displeasure with him trying to run us off the road,” Buteau said, “and his words to us were, ‘You shouldn’t be on the road.’”
That driver got it wrong, according to Officer Chuck McPhilamy, a spokesman for the Marietta Police Department.
“When we saw the video, we couldn’t believe what we were seeing,” said McPhilamy.
According to Georgia law, bicyclists are required to ride on the road, not on a sidewalk. Another Georgia law says drivers are required to allow them three feet of space between their vehicle and a bicycle they’re trying to pass.
“Had the truck been just a few inches closer and knocked the cyclist off, now you’re talking about additional charges that could’ve included aggravated assault,” McPhilamy said.
Buteau’s video captured the truck’s license plate number. McPhilamy said at last check, Cobb County police are working to track down the owner to issue a citation.
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