I was about to turn right off of Fuhrman Ave E northbound on to the University bridge. To my left, the northbound approach on Eastlake Ave E is a notoriously dangerous area, a small bike lane where cars frequently turn right in front of cyclists in the bike lane.
As i looked up a car turned right onto Fuhrman and drove off, while a cyclist, a guy in his 20s, lay on the ground yelling, "You hit me!".
I was on my way to an appointment, but i couldn't leave that alone, i made a quick U turn and pedaled as hard as i could after the car. At first i gained some ground, but after a block and a half he got through the traffic circle and started to accelerate quite a bit. I don't know if he knew i was chasing him, but he was going to certainly lose me at that speed. But he turned right on the next block and i caught up to him half a block later as he was parking his car.
He was a middle aged man in an expensive suit. I told him that it looked like he had hit a cyclist. He said that he didn't see anything. I argued with him for a few minutes. I kept saying that i didn't know what happened, but that the cyclist was yelling that he had been hit. I told the driver several times that leaving the scene of a accident was a serious offense in Washington State. He kept saying that he didn't hit the bike, although he did let on that he saw it before his turn and heard the yelling afterwards. I told him i didn't see it, i didn't know what happened, but that it wasn't his job to decide what had happened it was the police or the judge's job.
It took a couple of minutes, but i convinced him. He got back in his car and drove back the way he came.
I was really proud of myself how i handled it. I didn't scream and yell and call the guy names. I didn't even make demands. I stayed cool and appealed to his better nature. And in a way, i succeeded.
Not all stories end happily. The bicyclist had left the scene when i rode back by.
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