Police launch investigation after cyclist struck by passenger of overtaking car

Police have launched an investigation after a cyclist was struck by the passenger of an overtaking vehicle.

The incident happened near the town of Thame in Oxfordshire when a BMW driver overtook the cyclist, and the passenger, wearing a black face mask, reached out of the car and hit him on the neck with his hand. 

Thames Valley Police have opened an investigation into the incident, which happened at around 7pm on Wednesday, August 4, with officers appealing for information from the public. 

Investigating officer PC Dan Beglan said: “I am appealing for any witnesses to this incident, or anyone who was in the area and may have dashcam footage, to please come forward.

“Anyone with information can contact Thames Valley Police by calling 101 or making a report online, quoting reference 43210349273.

“Alternatively, if you wish to remain anonymous, you can contact the independent charity Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111 or via their website.”

The incident happened as the cyclist, a man in his 40s, was travelling westbound on the A4129 Risborough Road east of Thame, when the driver of the grey BMW 320D overtook the rider.

Then the passenger, described as a white male in his early to mid-20s, hit the cyclist.

Police said the registration number of the vehicle is BD07 WFD. 

Fortunately the cyclist was uninjured.

There have been a number of incidents of passengers assaulting cyclists while overtaking in recent years.

Earlier this year a car passenger was sentenced after he injured a cyclist by pulling him off his bike in an “idiotic” assault. 

Ashton Nutting was the passenger in a car when the occupants shouted abuse at a cyclist as they overtook him in Leicestershire in January 2020. 

Witnesses then saw Nutting lean his head and arm out of the window to grab the rider and pull him to the floor, leaving him with a broken elbow and hand fractures, Leicester Crown Court heard.

In 2018, a woman was pushed off her bike by the passenger of a car and was left with a broken arm, a broken front tooth and “mental scars.” 

The rider, who asked to remain anonymous, says she was "shocked" to see video of the incident shared online, adding: "I still hadn't fully recovered physical or mentally, although I'm getting there."