Advertisement
Australia markets closed
  • ALL ORDS

    7,957.80
    +32.60 (+0.41%)
     
  • AUD/USD

    0.6515
    -0.0046 (-0.70%)
     
  • ASX 200

    7,703.20
    +27.40 (+0.36%)
     
  • OIL

    82.52
    -0.20 (-0.24%)
     
  • GOLD

    2,151.80
    -12.50 (-0.58%)
     
  • Bitcoin AUD

    97,397.12
    -6,696.21 (-6.43%)
     
  • CMC Crypto 200

    885.54
    0.00 (0.00%)
     

Driver hits bike, then sues cyclist for $1,000

Young businesswoman driving and waving at male cyclist.
A cyclist in the US was sent to hospital after a car rear-ended him. But the real pain would come later when he was asked to pay for damages. (Image: Getty)

A driver who hit a cyclist, sending him to hospital, has sued the accident victim to pay for damages to the car.

Bryan Agnello, in New York state in the US, was last month struck from behind by a car while cycling home in rainy conditions, according to the City Newspaper.

His bicycle was mangled and an ambulance took him to hospital, where he was cleared of serious injury.

Unfortunately, after he was discharged Agnello was served a notice from the Rochester City Court for a US$700 (AU$1,072) claim against him for damages to the vehicle that almost killed him.

"I felt like I just got punched in the gut again," Angello said.

ADVERTISEMENT

"It was painful. I was angry."

The filing reportedly showed the driver, named as Jovonte Cook, describing the incident very differently to how police and Agnello had reported.

Cook claims that he wasn't able to work as a delivery driver due to the damage to his vehicle, and he told the City that Agnello was cycling at 128km per hour.

The world's best cyclists, in a race like the Tour de France, will only reach 100km per hour, racing sharply downhill.

"If I could go 60mph [100kph] I wouldn’t be here, I’d be in the Olympics," said Agnello.

A lawyer told the City that there is "no legal basis for this ridiculous claim".

Agnello has filed a countersuit for $2,500 for damages to his bike, rehabilitation time and distress, but just hopes the whole matter will be dropped.

Make your money work with Yahoo Finance’s daily newsletter. Sign up here and stay on top of the latest money, news and tech news.

Follow Yahoo Finance Australia on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and LinkedIn.