Paralysed cyclist says vehicle sped up behind him

A teenage cyclist left paralysed after being forced off the road has told police the vehicle involved sped up behind him in an intimidating way.

Officers say there was no reason for the driver to swerve towards the 17-year-old on Glengarry Rd, Glen Eden, last Tuesday evening.

The cyclist believed he was going to be struck by the vehicle so he pulled off the road. He ploughed into a concrete wall, which knocked him unconscious and caused serious spinal injuries.

An ambulance was called to the accident but police were not made aware of the circumstances until a relative of the young man made contact late last week.

The teen underwent major surgery on Friday to fuse together several vertebrae but remains paralysed from the chest down in Auckland City Hospital.

He was able to speak to police for several minutes yesterday and recalled the vehicle, possibly a white people-mover, had approached him at speed from behind.

"He looked back behind him and the vehicle started getting closer, to the point where he felt intimidated and had to pull off the road," said Constable Blair Atkinson of the Waitakere/North Shore police serious crash unit. The youth had not seen the vehicle before.

Police have appealed for the driver to come forward and want to hear from any witnesses.