Teen cyclist accused of knocking down elderly woman, sparking debate over who’s at fault

The New Paper has reached out to the original poster for comment.

While the caption says it is a shared pedestrian and bicycle lane, the boy is heard at the end of the video saying that it is a bicycle path and that a sign on the path warns pedestrians to look out.

Some netizens felt the boy had the right of way. “Why everyone saying it’s the boy fault when he is on cycling path?” asked a TikTok user.

“Bicycle lane for a reason,” said another.

But others felt that the cyclist should have looked out for pedestrians, even if he was on a path for cyclists. “Even on bicycles lane, also have to give way to pedestrians,” said a user.

“Biker in the wrong. He should be aware of his surroundings. Common sense,” said another.

There were also some who thought the cyclist must have been riding too fast to halt in time. “This always happens, though it’s their right of way, they speed without care!!!” said a netizen.

Others felt that both parties had to share the blame. “Both at fault. Both failed to look out properly and to exercise due care for other users,” said one of these.

One netizen pointed out that the cyclist and his group did the right thing by staying to resolve the matter, while another thought his remaining at the scene had nothing to do with being responsible. “He didn’t run away, not because he was responsible, but because he knew fleeing from the crime scene would make the problem bigger for him,” said the netizen.

Others felt that an apology from the cyclist might have ended the matter, with some feeling that the teenager was disrespectful, noting the age difference.

Another offered some advice to the cyclist: “Young man, it’s okay to make a mistake, but you must be brave to admit your mistake and it was not difficult to apologize right, that aunty is old enough to be your mother right and you also dun want people to treat your mother this way right… always treat people the way you want to be treated.”