Glenn Archer charged after horror crash with cyclist on Rosanna Rd, Heidelberg
A cyclist who was hit by a truck driven by Glenn Archer says the North Melbourne great “just swerved in and took me out, and then drove off, didn’t stop”.
Police & Courts
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North Melbourne great Glenn Archer has been charged by police after allegedly hitting a cyclist with his truck before driving off on a busy Melbourne road.
Shocking dashcam footage shows the 311-gamer allegedly clip the cyclist with the trailer of his truck, causing the cyclist to crash on Rosanna Rd in Heidelberg about 1.30pm on January 11.
Video then shows the truck continue to travel along the road in Melbourne’s north, failing to stop to assist the injured 58-year-old man.
Archer – who is North Melbourne’s Shinboner of the Century – claims he had no idea he hit the cyclist, apologising for leaving the injured man on the side of the road.
“(I’m) terribly sorry for what happened, absolutely,” the dual Premiership player told Nine News.
“On the day I had absolutely no idea, when you’re driving a truck there’s a lot of weight, I was carrying a trailer with a machine on the back, so multiple tonnes.”
The victim, cyclist Mark Vander, said the incident makes him “angry all the time” after spending two nights in the Royal Melbourne Hospital recovering from his injuries.
“He just swerved in and took me out, and then drove off, didn’t stop,” he told Nine.
“(I) just get angry all the time now, just mentally breaks you. To leave me dying in the ditch and drive off.
“Could have been a lot worse if I wasn’t wearing such a good helmet, (I) might not have been here to tell the story.”
It’s believed the victim called Archer’s tree removal business – where he is a part owner – where he was dismissed as a scammer.
“I thought ‘wow, I actually did knock the guy off the bike’, because at the start when we were getting phone calls asking for money and whatnot, at first I actually thought it was a scam,” Archer added.
He has been charged with careless driving and failing to keep a safe distance when overtaking, Nine News claims.
A Victoria Police spokeswoman confirmed it was aware of a collision on Rosanna Rd on January 11.
She said a trailer and a cyclist collided, leaving a man with injuries which were not life-threatening.
The matter was later investigated by Heidelberg police.
Archer is expected to front Heidelberg Magistrates’ Court in July.
It is not the first time Archer has been in hot water, charged with unlawful assault after he allegedly punched a runner at his son’s junior football match in Heidelberg in 2017.
Pleading guilty, he was convicted and fined $3000 for the attack.
Archer later admitted jumping the fence and entering the field of play was “inappropriate and unacceptable” in a statement released by his former club.
Archer played 311 games for North Melbourne and is widely considered one of the toughest and most courageous footballers of all time.
The Norm Smith Medallist and three-time All Australian has enjoyed watching his son, Jackson, develop into a fearless youngster after debuting for North Melbourne in round 15 last year.
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