Driver records himself striking bicyclist in Detroit, posts video on social media

DETROIT (FOX 2) - A man struck a bicyclist with his car while recording a video on his phone, and then posted the video to Instagram.

Police said they do not believe the incident was an accident.

"I think they have no conscience and don't care," said Randall Cousins, a fellow bicyclist.

The victim was struck by the vehicle on Detroit’s east side last Thursday morning, off Edgewood near Isham.

The bicyclist’s shoes were still at the scene on Monday. He was knocked off the bike and out of his shoes. According to police, both of his legs were broken.

The driver then struck another car, not on video, and sped off.

"I've seen people hit by a car, but there's usually some kind of motive," said Detroit Police Commander John Svec of the seventh precinct. "This one appears to be just for social media."

Police wondered if this could be one of the several dangerous TikTok trends. DPD checked in with neighboring police agencies, but they had not seen anything like this incident. 

"Looks like an isolated incident," Svec said. 

The suspect is still out there. He has wiped his social media off the internet since the video was posted last week. Now, DPD has secured warrants to search those accounts.

"He's not gonna get away with it," the commander said. 

Cousins, who also rides along the same route where the victim was struck, is now worried. This area in particular, he says, is tough to navigate safely via bike, as there are too many close calls with vehicles to count. 

"I ride right around here every day," Cousins said. "Over here, for some reason they speed, don't care, honk their horn, cuss you out. We got rights like them."