Cyclist who flew over handlebars and “nearly broke neck” after uninsured SUV driver pulled out confronts motorist at home demanding $13,000 – but pensioner says “there’s no way I’m bloody paying that”

A cyclist who lost control of his bike and flipped over the handlebars, landing on his head and “nearly breaking” his neck, after an uninsured driver pulled out of a parking space – allegedly without indicating – directly into his group’s path, confronted the motorist at her home to demand almost $13,000 to repair the damage to his new custom bike.

However, when confronted by the cyclist and his cousin, the SUV driver, 68-year-old Mele Kauvalu, claimed that she “didn’t hit” the rider and that he had simply “bumped into” her car instead, and insisted that there was “no damn way I’m bloody paying” to repair the victim’s bike.

The cyclist, a road safety engineer from Wellington, New Zealand, was riding single file in a group of four cyclists in Auckland on New Year’s Day, just after 8am, when Kauvalu suddenly pulled out of her parking space on Boundary Road in Clover Park.

In footage captured by one member of the group of the incident, and which has since been posted on social media (along with a clip of the subsequent confrontation at Kauvalu’s home), the cyclist can be seen losing control of his bike as he slams on the brakes to avoid the motorist, before flying over the handlebars and colliding with the back of the SUV.

“I was forced to brake, and as my brakes locked up I flipped 180 degrees in the air and landed on my back, nearly breaking my neck in the process,” the cyclist – who wishes to remain anonymous – told the New Zealand Herald this week.

The crash left him with heavy bruises, cuts, and shock, forcing him to take a week off work – though the cyclist believes it could have been a lot worse.

“My helmet saved my life, it has a massive dent on it. It could’ve been a fatal accident,” he said.

In the immediate aftermath of the crash, Kauvalu told the newspaper that she got out of her car but soon left the scene without speaking to the cyclists, because she believed that they had all escaped injury and that she wasn’t involved or at fault, in any case.

The following day, the cyclist and his cousin visited the driver’s home to explain that they were seeking damages of over $12,000 to pay for repairs to his bike’s frame, wheels, and crankset.

In footage of the confrontation, the cyclist’s cousin tells Kauvalu: “You almost killed him.”

“No, I didn’t hit him, he bumped into my car,” the 68-year-old replied.

After showing the driver footage of the incident, the cousin continued: “You pulled out without indicating and you nearly caused him to break his neck. And there’s $12,000 damage to the bike.”

“12 thousand? How the hell?” the pensioner exclaimed. “There’s no damn way I’m bloody paying that.”

Since then, the cyclist has lodged a Disputes’ Tribunal claim for $12,805 (around £5,800) in repairs to the new custom-built bike, including $3,800 for the buckled carbon wheelset, $3,290 for damage to the carbon fork and frame, and $2,100 for the damaged carbon crankset.

His $599 Abus Gamechanger helmet and $699 Garmin Edge 530 GPS bike computer were also damaged in the crash, along with the rear derailleur, left shifter, and handlebar.

Asked by the Herald why the bike was uninsured, the cyclist said it had been built just before Christmas and that he’d “barely had a chance to ride it, let alone specify it on a contents policy”.

He continued: “Insurance is primarily useful when you are at fault for something. Its secondary purpose is for when your property is damaged. And in this case, the driver is 100 per cent at fault.”

He added that the Disputes’ Tribunal claim, which is set to be assessed in late March, was the “logical method to recover my loss”, but he also hoped the police would charge the motorist with careless or dangerous driving.

New Zealand Police has confirmed it is currently investigating the incident, including the claim that Kauvalu left the scene after the collision.

“Police have since received additional information to assist our inquiries”, a police spokesman said. “We are in the process of speaking with the registered owner of a nominated vehicle.”

Speaking to the New Zealand Herald, retired pharmaceutical factory worker Kauvalu said she “can’t believe I didn’t see anything coming” and that she had checked if the road was clear before pulling out of the space.

“I wasn’t in a hurry or anything, because we’d just visited our priest on the first day of the new year, [which we do] every year,” she said. “I just looked and [it] was clear for me.”

Asked if she’d indicated before exiting the space, the 68-year-old said she couldn’t remember, but admitted that the evidence in the video clip – which appears to show that she failed to indicate – was “probably right”.

“If I don’t indicate and it caused it, then I suppose I feel responsible,” she said.

The motorist added that on the day of the crash she believed that she hadn’t done anything wrong. After stopping and getting out of the SUV due to hearing screams, she then asked a passer-by on the other side of the road if she’d hit someone.

“She said, ‘No, no. He just stopped, pushed down on the brake and fell’,” the pensioner continued.

Kauvalu then left without speaking to the cyclist because she felt that he didn’t appear injured and was surrounded by his fellow cyclists, and in any ase didn’t believe she was at fault, noting: “I thought, I didn’t hit anything.”

> “Looks like the cyclist deliberately made contact with the car”: Driver pulls across three lanes and hits cyclist – and motorists claim cyclist was at fault

“They sent me something. I have to go to a tribunal or whatever you call it,” she continued, referring to the damages claim, while noting that the police have since contacted her.

“They want me to pay the money. I don’t know where the hell I’m gonna get the money… they may have to take it off my pension every damn, bloody fortnight.”

Meanwhile, earlier this week, in Hastings, another city on New Zealand’s North Island, police confirmed that a 34-year-old women has been charged with dangerous driving, following the death of an 11-year-old girl, who was struck by the driver while riding her bike near her home, prompting the local community to unite to call for safer streets.