Shock moment driver ploughs into cyclist on quiet country road before speeding off claiming ‘I thought it was a sheep!'
Horrifying footage shows David Walter, 46, on his bike as he travelled to work along the B4280 near Bridgend, South Wales, before being struck by the heavy vehicle - driven by Wayne Adams, 60.
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The recording, made by David on his bike, shows him cycling along the country road, keeping to the left-hand side, as other motorists travel in both directions.
At one point, a driver can be seen overtaking David from behind, but exercising caution and leaving a large gap between themselves and the cyclist.
The video - dated in the morning of September 5, 2022 - sees a number of other cars travel in the opposite direction before Adams' van enters the frame.
His white van appears in the back of the frame before travelling rapidly towards David.
The driver appears to make no attempt to swerve out of the way or give space to David as he continues to accelerate in his Peugeot van.
As he makes contact with David and his bike, the cyclist is sent tumbling to the side of the road, into a grassy patch - leaving an eerie final frame of the ground beneath him.
Cyclist David was left in a back brace for three months after the shocking crash after rupturing part of his spine and suffering from five broken ribs and a cracked sternum.
The 46-year-old also suffered excessive internal bleeding and spent two weeks in hospital after being hit.
David may never fully recover from his injuries and continues to suffer from a number of long-term health issues resulting from the crash.
Adams claimed to police he couldn't see David on his bike due to low sunlight that morning - the cyclist was travelling along the road at around 7.20am.
Shocking moment cyclist tears through traffic with child clinging to back - before riding WRONG way through roundabout
However, drivers could be seen easily avoiding David in the video - not to mention that the cyclist was wearing a hi-vis jacket and had flashing lights on his bike.
Adams also failed to stop at the scene after hitting David, later claiming he thought he had hit a sheep.
After seeing the damage done to his van, however, he returned to the scene of the collision.
Appearing at Cardiff Crown Court last month, Adams avoided a prison sentence but was given a 24-month community order with 150 hours of unpaid work.
He was also disqualified from driving for a year.
'I HAVE TO LIVE WITH PAIN EVERY DAY - IT NEVER LEAVES YOU'
Speaking to WalesOnline, David said: "Having spent three months in a back brace trying to recover from this I now have metalwork in my back.
"Before this I'd never even had back pain before and now I have to live with it every day."
He explained that he now has to stand up at his desk and is also forced to sleep differently - either straight on his back or on his side with a pillow between his legs.
David added: "It never leaves you. People see me back on my bike and think it's fine but it isn't that simple."
The experienced long-distance cyclist said he also "blacked out" for around 20 seconds after being hit by the vehicle - finding himself on the side of the road and unable to move when he woke up.
David then had to wait an agonising five hours at the scene until an ambulance arrived.
He explained he had been on his usual Monday morning commute - and had been training at the time for the Paris-Brest-Paris 1,200km cycling event - when he was hit.
David recalled that the sun was lower than usual on the morning he was hit but didn't feel that it was of any concern.
Adams pleaded guilty to causing serious injury by careless driving.
The court heard he had previous convictions for eight offences dating back to the 1980s and 1990s.
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