{"id":315035,"date":"2026-02-24T17:07:10","date_gmt":"2026-02-24T17:07:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/315035\/"},"modified":"2026-02-24T17:07:10","modified_gmt":"2026-02-24T17:07:10","slug":"cyclist-run-down-seriously-injured-by-dirt-biker-in-wellington-park","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/315035\/","title":{"rendered":"Cyclist ‘run down’ seriously injured by dirt biker in Wellington park"},"content":{"rendered":"

CCTV captures moment dirt bike rider appears to drive at cyclist – Watch on TVNZ+<\/a><\/p>\n

A cyclist who suffered leg injuries after he was run down by a moto-cross biker in an Upper Hutt says he may move elsewhere due to fears of another attack. <\/p>\n

The man, who wanted to remain anonymous for fear of his safety, ruptured his anterior cruciate ligament and suffered a dislocated kneecap after being hit by a person riding a dirt bike at Trentham Memorial Park last Monday. <\/p>\n

\u201cHe didn\u2019t try to swerve or anything, he bee-lined for me.\u201d <\/p>\n

\u201cI didn\u2019t have any time to react \u2013 by the time I turned around, he\u2019d hit me.\u201d <\/p>\n

Footage from a home security camera showed the cyclist travelling in the opposite direction to a group of four riders. One of the group riding a motocross bike turns around, heads toward the cyclist and knocks him to the ground. <\/p>\n

\"A<\/p>\n

A group of riders at Trentham Memorial Park around the time a cyclist was injured.. (Source: Supplied)<\/p>\n

The man says he did nothing to provoke the rider, although police have told 1News the group of bikers may have wrongly thought they were being filmed by the cyclist. <\/p>\n

The cyclist said the collision left him in excruciating pain. <\/p>\n

\u201cI hit my head on the ground. It must\u2019ve been two minutes before the residents came across from the park and then I woke up and my knee was just in excruciating pain; I\u2019d never felt pain like that before. I pulled my trackies up and my leg was just like a balloon.\u201d <\/p>\n

By the time he came to, the bikers had sped away. <\/p>\n

He said the emotional toll meant he hadn\u2019t had a full night\u2019s sleep since the incident. <\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s been nightmares, waking up, in pain, and trying to get back to sleep but all I can think is these guys on the bike, coming at me.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s changed me as a person, I know that.\u201d <\/p>\n

He said he had given up his hobby of cycling after 30 years and he couldn\u2019t bring himself to do it again. <\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s my relief, I can put my earbuds on and disappear.\u201d <\/p>\n

Photos supplied to 1News showed damage to his bicycle’s suspension with cracks from the impact. <\/p>\n

\u201cThe bike’s a write-off,\u201d he says, \u201cthat\u2019s a seven-thousand-dollar bike that\u2019s practically ruined.\u201d <\/p>\n

Including medical bills, a new phone and helmet, he\u2019s looking at expenses of $10,000. <\/p>\n

He said he and his family were moving out of the area and he\u2019s disbanding his business. <\/p>\n

\u201cWe don\u2019t feel safe anymore.\u201d <\/p>\n

Residents have told 1News that encounters with the bikers were a regular occurrence in the area. <\/p>\n

One resident said she observed groups of bikers, mainly in the weekend. <\/p>\n

Another called the behaviour disgusting. \u201cThis is an area where you\u2019ve got young children, it\u2019s too dangerous to have dirt bikes here.\u201d <\/p>\n

Hutt Valley area Inspector Shaun Lingard said police were aware of an ongoing issue with riders. <\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re getting two, three reports a week, with more or a proliferation in the weekends and definitely over the summer months as well.\u201d <\/p>\n

\u201cI wouldn\u2019t say what we saw in Upper Hutt last week was the norm,\u201d he added. <\/p>\n

\u201cHe wasn\u2019t doing anything wrong, just minding his own business.\u201d <\/p>\n

Over the past year, police have targeted anti-social dirt biker behaviour around the country. <\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s not something unique to Wellington district, it\u2019s right across the motu, particularly in Tamaki Makaurau,\u201d Lingard said. <\/p>\n

The injured cyclist wanted police to take action in his neighbourhood. <\/p>\n

Police Minister Mark Mitchell said anti-social dirt biking behaviour wasn\u2019t something he was taking lightly. <\/p>\n

\u201cThe Government is serious about cracking down on unruly, dangerous driving by boy racers, and dirt bike riders. <\/p>\n

\u201cThose who cause mayhem on our roads and put the public at risk will face much tougher consequences once the new laws come into force.\u201d <\/p>\n

\u2013 additional reporting by Reuben Smith.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"CCTV captures moment dirt bike rider appears to drive at cyclist – Watch on TVNZ+ A cyclist who…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":315036,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[22],"tags":[246,61,60,82,9116],"class_list":{"0":"post-315035","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-environment","8":"tag-environment","9":"tag-ie","10":"tag-ireland","11":"tag-science","12":"tag-wellington"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/315035","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=315035"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/315035\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/315036"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=315035"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=315035"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=315035"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}