A cyclist deliberately targeted by a suspected stolen car in one of two incidents in Melbourne’s southeast last week has been left with lifelong spinal injuries.
Two cyclists were riding along Beach Rd in Cheltenham and Beaumaris last Tuesday before 6am when they were hit in separate incidents.
WATCH THE VIDEO ABOVE: The lifelong injuries suffered by a cyclist mowed down in Melbourne.
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Glen Gibson, 51, was mowed down on a section of the busy road in Cheltenham and remains in hospital almost a week later.
A short time after Gibson was struck, a 72-year-old male cyclist was also hit by the same car and he also remains in hospital for treatment for a fractured spine and foot.
In a statement to 7NEWS, Gibson’s family said the father-of-three’s spine will never fully recover and they had been left “deeply traumatised” and “disturbed”.
“The first few days every time Glen opened his eyes, he relived the images of the car coming, deliberately swerving towards him and mowing him down, then he heard them laughing,” Gibson’s wife Nancy said.
“What kind of disturbed, inhumane individuals do that?
“It was hard to digest for Glen, and all of us that people could be so callous and cruel. He could have died.”
On Sunday, Gibson was able to stand up with the help of crutches after he was transferred to a private hospital to undergo intense rehabilitation to walk again.
Police are still hunting for the driver and another person, with sources telling 7NEWS one of the suspects is a teenager who is already facing assault charges and is on bail.
The pair dumped the stolen car used to carry out the shocking attacks in Black Rock and uploaded video of the incidents to social media.
Anyone with any information is urged to contact Crime Stoppers.
Fellow local cyclist Karen Gittins said she was appalled after hearing what had happened.
“I was shocked … it’s just really upsetting that people would go out of their way to harm someone like that, someone going about their business,” she said.
“I just think the consequences are just not there for the young people to learn you can’t go and do this, they’re getting away with it, and so they’re not frightened.”
