New Westminster police are waiting to speak with a cyclist who may or may not have been hit by a vehicle while riding along Stewardson Way early Thursday morning.
Around 2 a.m., a passing motorist found the 43-year-old New West man unconscious in some bushes on the south side of the 1300 block of Stewardson Way, Sgt. Chad Johnston, spokesperson for the New Westminster Police Department, told The Record.
The motorist pulled over when he spotted a bicycle on the road and that’s when he saw the 43-year-old, Johnston added.
Police arrived shortly after the discovery, and investigators with the department’s collision reconstruction team were brought in to determine what led to the cyclist being found unconscious in the bushes.
“At this time it’s still under investigation and we haven’t even determined if he was actually even struck by a vehicle,” Johnston said.
The cyclist was taken to hospital with some scrapes and bruises, and investigators are waiting to speak with him to find out what happened on Stewardson Way, he added.
According to Johnston, investigators believe that if the cyclist had been hit by a vehicle his injuries would have been much more severe, especially while riding along Stewardson Way.
“We don’t want to speculate but scrapes and bruises may lend itself to the fact that he might not have even been struck by a vehicle. He may have potentially been riding on the road and fallen off his bike,” Johnston said. “Vehicles travel along Stewardson at a high rate of speed and if you’re struck by a vehicle I would think that the injuries would probably be fairly significant.”
Stewardson Way was closed for several hours in both directions as investigators combed the scene for evidence. It reopened at about 6:30 a.m.
Anyone with information on this incident is asked to contact please contact Const. Basran at 604-525-5411.
