An Exeter nurse is recovering at home after being hit by a cyclist as she walked to work in an alleged hit-and-run incident.
Rachel Hamilton, 22, was en-route to the Royal Devon and Exeter Hospital on Thursday when she was struck by the man apparently riding on the wrong side of Barrack Road.
Rachel said: "It happened completely out of the blue. The cyclist came out of nowhere. He was riding really fast, without a helmet and on the wrong side of the road. He hit me full-on and ran-over me, like a car would do."
She was knocked to the ground near the Magdalen Road junction at around 7pm before the cyclist lifted his bike off her and rode away.
Rachel said: "Everything took place so quickly. He stood there for a minute, apparently in shock. Then he said to me 'Sorry. Are you alright?' But didn't wait for an answer before picking his bike off me and riding away."
The haematology nurse, originally from Northern Ireland, was left with a broken wrist, bruising to her face and collar bone as well as a minor back injury.
Rachel said: "What really upset me is that the cyclist just rode off. Maybe he was in shock, or just needed to run in a 'flight or fight' mentality. But I could have hit my head or been unconscious. Would he have still left me if that had happened?"
Rachel is keen to speak to a female passer-by, aged in her 30s, who went to her aid.
She said: "She saw me sitting on the pavement in a daze and asked me what had happened. Then she walked me to the hospital and I went to A&E. Unfortunately I didn't get her name, because I'd really like to thank her."
Rachel, who is part of St Leonard's Church on Topsham Road, said that she could forgive the actions of the cyclist because "everyone makes mistakes".
She added: "It's a good thing he didn't fall off his bike, because he could have injured his head."
Rachel is facing at least two weeks off work, pending the result of another X-ray on her scaphoid fracture.
She added: "Fortunately there's no permanent damage done. If he had hit someone much older or younger, it could have been a lot worse."
If you are the 'Good Samaritan' who helped Rachel, call the Echo newsdesk on 01392 442239 or email echonews@expressandecho.co.uk
