GoPro camera nabs hit-and-run driver

Published Jun 6, 2014

Share

Johannesburg - A motorcyclist has captured on camera the moment his motorcycle was smacked by a passing motorist, who then fled the scene.

The incident comes a day after cyclist Malcolm Fox, a victim of a bike-jacking on Saturday, captured a dramatic 59-second sequence in Somerset West, Western Cape, of an armed robbery on his GoPro camera mounted on his helmet.

The motorcyclist, Dennis Nathris, was travelling home from work on Tuesday afternoon, making his way down Walton Road in Midrand.

His video footage, also taken on a GoPro camera, shows the motorcyclist coming to an intersection and turning on his indicator, and trying to turn to the right. But a white VW Polo in the distance starts moving towards the intersection.

The motorcyclist slams on the brakes and tries to swerve. Ultimately the bike makes contact with the right side of the Polo.

Cars in the area start hooting at the Polo, but the driver speeds off into the distance.

DISTRACTED

Nathris said the driver was on his cellphone at the point of impact, and may have been too distracted to notice a motorcycle coming towards him.

Nathris, who was uninjured in the incident, said he was shocked at the sheer apathy of the driver, who did not even check to see if he was okay.

Nathris opened a case with the Midrand police.

Police spokesman Warrant Officer Moses Maphakela said investigators had received the licence plate of the vehicle and were looking into the incident.

Nathris posted the incident online, and a savvy internet friend managed to track down the identity of the driver.

The avid motorcyclist said he had been using the GoPro camera for two months and had taken a series of videos showing the “lawlessness on the roads”.

Numerous times, he said, he had obtained footage of people using their cellphones, and even tablets, while behind the wheel.

Nathris said that, ultimately, motorcyclists were more vulnerable than someone in a motor vehicle.

He had just one message for the driver in the incident he was involved in: “Don’t use your mobile while you’re driving.”

Three people are thought to have been involved in the Fox bicycle hijacking.

Another YouTube video posted in April this year showed a truck travelling on the R21 into Pretoria causing an accident with two vehicles before fleeing the scene.

The incident was filmed by a driver, also equipped with a GoPro, according to the video.

The Star

Related Topics: