Cyclist Andrew Black recovering after allegedly being struck Jersey City Councilmember Amy Degise in hit-and-run
JERSEY CITY, N.J. - A Jersey City cyclist is grateful to be alive after a frightening hit and run accident allegedly involving a councilmember last week.
Now he is seeking answers to why the driver left the scene.
Video released allegedly shows Jersey City Councilwoman-at-large Amy Degise did not slow down after she struck the cyclist.
The victim spoke with our CBS2's Astrid Martinez.
"I'm still a little shaken up. I have to go to the doctor today to get the pain checked out," said Andrew Black.
It was a close call for Black after he was struck riding his bike on Martin Luther King Drive and Forrest Street.
"I was about to look right. And then it hit," Black said.
The 29-year-old was making a delivery for Uber Eats while traveling on his bicycle the morning of July 19. Video shows he ran clearly ran the red light, then a black Nissan Rogue runs right into him, nearly head-on. The caught-on-camera collision captures Black flipping onto the hood, and falling off.
The driver, identified as City Councilmember Amy Degise, apparently does not slow down and drives off.
It's not clear if Degise saw Black.
"Like if you hit someone that speed and just drive away, it seems like that's not nice to me," Black said.
Video shows Black standing up and limping to the side of the street, leaning on a light pole for balance. Bystanders gather around to help. One man brings Black his flip-flops, which were left in the middle of the road with his mangled bike.
"The thing that most concerned me was after such a serious crash not stopping and checking on the wellbeing of the victim. Obviously in the video, we're grateful he gets up and walks away. But the driver of the car doesn't know that," said Jersey City Councilmember James Solomon.
A police report shows Degise was issued two summonses for leaving the scene of an accident and failing to report an accident.
Solomon is calling on her to resign.
"She had to have known she hit somebody based on the video, and why she chose not to stop I can't speculate on, but it's concerning," Solomon said.
Black says he hasn't been able to work due to his injuries. He also told Martinez Degise never reached out to him to apologize or asked how he's doing.
We called and emailed her several times and have not heard back.
Astrid Martinez contributed to this report.