‘I felt so small’: Richmond cyclist recalls hit and run, dozens of cars driving past him

RICHMOND, Va. (WRIC) -- Shocking video captured a driver in Richmond hitting a cyclist on Friday, Aug. 29 -- and then driving away. But the cyclist was more disheartened by the fact that no one in the nearly 20 cars around him stopped to help as he lay in the middle of the road.  

That cyclist is Bryan Pecora. He told 8News he was going east at the intersection of Leigh and Belvidere Street. He said he was following the rules of the road by riding in a designated bike lane and that the light had just turned green.

“I felt so small and so insignificant in the middle of the road -- people trying to get by me," he said. 

Pecora was out for an evening ride and planned to grab dinner and relax at home.  

Dashcam video captured by the only driver who stopped for Pecora shows a black car turning left onto Belvidere and hitting Pecora, then driving off.

“Before you know it, I hit the hood, rolled in the air," he said. "I got tossed as you see in the video and then I lay on the ground ... in that moment I thought I was done.” 

Then a silver car slowly passed him to avoid hitting him but then continued on down the road. Pecora said other cars were going past him, going timidly enough not to hit him but never stopped to help.

“It’s the mentality of self-centered, it’s -- there’s no help in this world," he said. 

He said it all happened so fast that all he saw was that it was a black car that hit him. Luckily, his injuries are only some bruising and a sore wrist. 

“Wherever they were going, I guarantee you wasn’t more important than helping a helpless person in the middle of the road," Pecora said.

According to the Department of Motor Vehicles, there have been 13 crashes involving cyclists in Richmond through June. None were deadly. 

Pecora, a husband and father, is grateful it wasn’t worse. His message to drivers -- pay more attention. 

“I can be only as safe as I can and I can follow my rules but if everybody else in their car, in their 2,000-pound murder vehicles, they need to pay more attention especially if they’re on a bike lane," he said.  

Pecora said he filed a report with the Richmond Police Department and hopes to get more camera footage to get the tag on the car that hit him. He's worried no one will be held accountable.