BUFFALO, N.Y. — An alarming video shared on Facebook/Instagram shows the moments a driver nearly plowed into a flow of bikers at Monday’s Slow Roll.
Simon Husted, a volunteer at the event who posted the video online, said he was blocking traffic like he does every week at the community bicycle ride at the intersection of Amherst St. and Starin Ave. in North Buffalo when a Dodge Durango pulled up.
Husted said he tried to explain to the driver that he’d need to wait just a few minutes to allow the rest of the bicyclists to pass, and that was when chaos ensued.
“He just said he was going to go at green light, and no one's going to stop him,” Husted recounted. “I honestly thought he was gonna just try to run us through, mow us down.”
The driver began driving at the volunteers, backing up and attempting to drive around them. Husted and his fellow volunteers used their bikes to block his path. They said the driver was most concerned about his car getting damaged.
“I was like, ‘You literally could be hurting people, but you're gonna worry about the condition of your car?’” Husted said.
Husted filed a police report Monday evening about the incident — and it’s gained attention on social media.
It came during the very same Slow Roll that was aimed at raising awareness for biker safety due to fatal crashes involving pedestrians and bikers becoming almost a monthly occurrence in Western New York.
The New York State Department of Transportation reported a record-high number of fatalities in 2023 with 42 in the region. That’s up 300% from the numbers in 2020.
“People get hurt, and because there's maybe not video of it, we don't really take notice of it,” Husted said.
State senator Sean Ryan will be announcing legislation in Buffalo Thursday morning in regards to biker and pedestrian safety.
Monday’s incident may have only lasted seconds, but Husted said he’s sharing his story in hopes that its impact extends a lifetime.
“It's fine. You don't like Slow Roll? You don't want to wait in traffic? Then talk to your councilman. Talk to whoever, but don't go violent because that's not the answer,” he said.
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