AN ELDERLY woman was hit by a Deliveroo cyclist in Oxford city centre.
Heidi Taube Marks, 73, was walking along a pavement in Cornmarket on November 3, when she was hit by the delivery man.
The accident happened just days after another Deliveroo cyclist hit a toddler in Cowley.
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Ms Marks, who has lived in Oxford for 49 years, said: “I was on my way down Cornmarket, and I became aware there was an open back truck collecting rubbish from the bins, so I moved over from the pedestrianised street and I was on the footpath when this man ploughed into me.
“I now have black and blue marks on my arm, they are very big, one of the bruises is around 8cm big.”
Ms Marks said the cyclist did not call out to tell her he was approaching, nor did he ring a bell.
She added: "He stopped afterwards to say ‘sorry, sorry’ but then rode off.
"He was doubly wrong in the fact he was cycling on Cornmarket between 10am and 6.00pm where there is a prohibition against cycling, and he was also on the footpath, so again he should not have been riding."
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Ms Marks spoke to two bystanders who saw the accident and checked that she was not hurt.
She said: “We had a discussion about how lots of people are riding up and down Cornmarket Street with no intervention and Deliveroo drivers are very often jumping lights, knocking people down.
“When I read the article about the other accident I realised that I needed to write in.”
Ms Marks also raised concerns about the Deliveroo driver not following Coronavirus quarantining guidelines.
After she came out of the bookshop on Cornmarket, she saw the cyclist who hit her and went to tell him how much she could have been hurt.
She said: "He was talking with his friend and I said to him, I should slap you silly because you were in the wrong. "Then the second Deliveroo cyclist intervened and said to me, 'you must remember that he is not a speaker of English and he has only been in the country for two days'.
"When I mentioned this to my doctor, my doctor questioned why he was not in quarantine if he had only arrived in the country two days ago?"
Ms Marks complained to Deliveroo about the accident.
The company told her they would be in contact about how they were proceeding with the complaint. She never heard back.
Ms Marks also reported the accident to Thames Valley Police.
After three phone calls and Ms Marks explaining the ‘stupid accident’ the police closed the case as ‘without a name and without a license plate’ they could not proceed.
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She said: “They were not going to look for the driver of the lorry, even though he could be placed, or go to Pret A Manger to see if that staff could be a witness. I gave up.”
A spokesperson for Thames Valley Police said: "We are unable to comment on specific cases, however, we are aware of some cyclists who ride in a careless or dangerous manner in the city.
"We tackle this on a daily basis through our patrolling of the city, and we regularly engage with the cycling community, including delivery riders, offering verbal advice and guidance where required.
"Street ambassadors are also on patrol and offer the same advice where appropriate.
"We would like to remind cyclists that they should dismount in locations where it is appropriate to do so, and at all times be aware of members of the public who are on foot."
A spokesperson for Deliveroo said: “Deliveroo takes rider conduct and public safety extremely seriously. We have taken immediate steps to address this terrible incident
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