Essex cyclist survives being dragged for 1,000 metres under hit and run van

Police have issued an appeal for witnesses after a cyclist in Essex was dragged under a van which failed to stop, the vehicle’s occupants subsequently fleeing and leaving the victim trapped underneath.

The 35-year-old cyclist, who has not been named, had been cycling along Station Lane in Ingatsetone at 7am last Sunday morning when he was knocked off his bike and dragged underneath a white Ford Transit van.

The vehicle was abandoned further along the road with its occupants fleeing the scene on foot, eventually stopping with the victim still beneath the vehicle. Fire fighters managed to free him after using airbags to lift the van, and he was taken to Broomfield Hospital, Chelmsford, where he was treated for multiple bone fractures. He has since been transferred to the Norfolk and Norwich Hospital.

Calvin Goody, station commander at Ingatestone fire station, told the Brentwood Weekly News that he believed the cyclist had been dragged for around one kilometre before the van came to a halt. He added that fire crews had arrived at the scene by 7.15 and that it took 20 minutes to free the victim, and said: “When we got the man out from under the van he was talking, but he had serious facial and arm injuries.”

The newspaper added that police combed the area on Sunday with dogs looking for evidence and later arrested three people on suspicion of perverting the course of justice at a property in Ingatestone, a 43-year-old man and 42-year-old woman from the area, and a 29-year-old man from Croydon. The trio have been released on police bail until May 10.

Witnesses to the incident, or anyone with further information, are asked to call the Chigwell Road Policing Unit on 0300 3334444.