‘Uber Eats e-biker attacked me after high-speed pavement crash’

Victim suffered head and body injuries after being ‘thrown in the air like rag doll’

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A woman says she was thrown into the air “like a rag doll” by a powerful e-bike speeding along a pavement, then punched repeatedly by the rider, an Uber Eats courier.
Savina Hewson, 56, suffered a concussion after being “smashed into” by the fast food delivery man, who she says assaulted her as she lay on the ground trying to use her mobile phone.
Ms Hewson, a mother of three, suffered head and body injuries and was taken to hospital following the collision in Hull, Humberside, last Sunday afternoon. Police are hunting the alleged hit and run cyclist.
Ms Hewson, a community health care assistant, is now calling on the Government to introduce tough laws to target cyclists who flout road rules and endanger lives.
She said: “I was waiting for the green man light at a crossing when a powerful e-bike being ridden at a super-fast speed on the pavement came out of nowhere and smashed into me.
“I was thrown in the air like a rag doll. I had my bike with me which was catapulted away and was mangled from the impact. I thought I had been hit by a car that had careened off the road on to the pavement.
“I blacked out but then came round lying on his e-bike with him looking over me.
“I could feel the right side of my face swelling up. I got my mobile phone out to try to use the camera to assess my injuries.
“But, he knocked the phone out of my hand. He then bent over me and started punching me. I couldn’t believe it.”
Ms Hewson said she assumed the courier, who she said could not speak English, thought she was calling the police and did not want to encounter the authorities, possibly because his bike had been modified to travel at high speed.
“Some couriers may be customising their e-bikes to go faster so they can make more deliveries and therefore earn more money,” she added, explaining how the one that hit her was “more like a motorbike with thick, chunky wheels and a large frame”.
She claimed she attempted to stop the cyclist speeding off and managed to grab his thermal takeaway bag, sending food containers and fried chicken flying across the ground.
Among the items left behind was a fast food receipt which she believes included his courier code, which may help police identify him. A passer-by came to her aid and the police were called.
An Uber Eats spokesman said the company was “extremely concerned” by the report.
He added: “We are fully investigating and are in contact with the police. The safety of our customers, couriers and the general public is a top priority for Uber Eats.
“Couriers must adhere to all applicable laws and regulations, including the Highway Code, and we have measures in place to help ensure they use appropriate vehicles.”
A Humberside Police spokeswoman said: “Investigations are under way after a woman was allegedly knocked off her bike in a collision on Beverley Road, near to the junction with Hall Road, earlier this week.
“We were called at around 3.45pm on Nov 17 by a woman reporting that a man on an electric bike had collided with her, causing her to fall from her bicycle to the floor.
“The man then allegedly assaulted the woman, before riding off in the direction of Hull city centre.”
“Various lines of inquiry are under way to identify the man and establish the circumstances surrounding the collision, and we would appeal to anyone with information that may assist to call our non-emergency 101 line.”