Cyclist who survived dramatic collision charged

A cyclist who was struck by a vehicle after running a red light in Ottawa's downtown core Saturday appeared to walk away from the shocking collision unscathed, except for a fine.

The dramatic afternoon crash at the intersection of Lyon Street and Laurier Avenue West was caught on a vehicle's dashboard camera.

Nick Fleury, who had just installed the dashcam in his car two hours earlier, was downtown getting food with his girlfriend when the crash occurred.

"Luckily my girlfriend was fast enough on the brakes to miss the cyclist. But a second car had come back and unfortunately hit the cyclist," Fleury said.

The video shows a man cycling through a red light. After the impact, the man hits the car's windshield and rolls off, as the bike flies several metres through the air, nearly hitting a pedestrian on the opposite sidewalk.

The man who was struck by the car can be seen getting back up on his feet immediately after the impact.

Police on scene immediately

After they stopped to make sure they had saved the video footage, Fleury and his girlfriend called police, whohappened to be nearby in an unmarked vehicle.

"By the time I turned around, there was a police officer there," said Fleury. "The officer instructed [the cyclist] to sit down on the nearest step, so that she could assess him really quickly."

Fleurysaidthe cyclist and the driverof the car that hit him were both OK.

"When I spoke to the driver and his wife, they were both completely shocked and didn't see the cyclist at all. So it was a very scary situation, but luckily everybody walked away," he said.

Ottawa police said thecyclist was observed running a red light and they later charged him in connection to the incident.

The intersection of Lyon Street and Laurier Avenue West was the scene of a fatal crash last September, when 23-year-old cyclist Nusran Jahan was struck and killed by a construction truck.

The driver of the truck in that case was charged with criminal negligence causing death and dangerous operation of a motor vehicle causing death.