John Hawkes was knocked off his bike in an alleged hit and run on Thursday night. Photo / Andrew Warner
John Hawkes was thrown off his bike in an alleged hit and run last Thursday. He doesn't remember much, but what he does recall makes him grimace.
The keen Rotorua cyclist was in a bunch of 12 to 15 riders returning from racing in Waikite Valley at 7.30pm.
Riding in the road shoulder on State Highway 33 near SH5, cyclists in the bunch estimate the driver of a black Ford sedan was going 80km/h when it hit Hawke's back wheel.
Hawkes was hurled over the bonnet, head first into the road, and slid down the seal as it tore off parts of his skin, helmet, cycling jersey and bike.
The carnage left the rest of the group toppling over one another, unable to focus on the offender's vehicle details as it sped off. One rider was hospitalised.
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Hawkes knows his injuries could have been much more severe than heavy grazing, a head cut and a badly bruised ankle.
Just three months ago his mother, Francisca Hawkes-Buchanan, was killed in Rotorua when a car and her scooter collided on the corner of Arawa and Rangiuru streets.
Hawkes has always been "more safety-conscious than most," especially after losing his mother.
Hawke's wife Laurelle told the Rotorua Daily Post the past few days had been "terribly painful" for their five children, raising memories of their grandmother's death.
"It's just not hitting a rider, there's a family there."
Hawkes believed the driver had to go out of their way to "cause mayhem" and said the driver lacked a "moral compass or a conscience".
Police are still piecing together what happened, and who's responsible.
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