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Scary moment The AFL legend leaves a cyclist with horrific injuries when he rams him with a truck before reportedly fleeing the scene, apologizing and giving his side of the story.
Glenn Archer has apologized after the AFL great allegedly hit a cyclist with his van and drove off in Melbourne.
The former North Melbourne star, 49, told Channel 9 he did not realize he had hit someone when he was driving in Heidelberg on January 11.
Archer owns a tree removal business and was allegedly driving on Rosanna Road when the accident occurred last month.
A 58-year-old cyclist says he has been mentally shattered by the ordeal that left him in hospital for two days.
Mark Vander said: ‘He just swerved and took me out and went and didn’t stop.
Glenn Archer has apologized for his alleged role in a Melbourne truck accident
The great North Melbourne allegedly hit Mark Vander while driving last month
Vander, 58, said he was mentally shattered by the ordeal that hospitalized him.
“I get mad all the time now, it mentally breaks you down.
“It could have been so much worse, if I hadn’t been wearing such a great helmet, I wouldn’t be here telling the story.”
Vander claims that he contacted the tree removal business on several occasions, but the company denied any wrongdoing.
Dash cam footage later confirmed what had happened and Archer has now apologized.
“I am absolutely terribly sorry for what happened,” he said. ‘I thought ‘wow, I knocked the guy on the bike down.’
“At first, we were getting calls asking for money, I thought it was a scam.”
The two-time first-place winner has been charged with reckless driving and failing to keep a safe distance when overtaking. He will face the Heidelberg magistrates’ court in July.
Archer made over 300 appearances for the Kangaroos during his 15-year playing career, scoring 148 goals as the club etched his name in football folklore.
However, he’s had his fair share of controversy, having been fined $2,000 for assaulting a running back during his son’s junior soccer game in 2017.
Archer managed to successfully vacate the conviction despite pleading guilty to the initial charge, arguing that he had not been given a fair hearing.
The North Melbourne big hit the halfback, breaking his glasses, as tensions rose at the half-time break of their youth game at a Heidelberg oval in June 2017.
Jackson Archer now plays for the North Melbourne Football Club and made his senior debut last season.
‘I’m glad it’s over. It’s been two years of my life and many other people’s lives,” Archer said outside of court.
‘I would like to thank the judge for being able to put an end to this so quickly. It’s over now and we can all move on and get on with our lives.