A BMX rider says he’s “embarrassed” to have put Vancouver Police Department in a negative light after he was hit by a police van while riding recklessly down a hill.

A video of the incident, which occurred around 4:30 p.m. July 7, near Emily Carr University on Great Northern Way, surfaced on social media sites Twitter and Reddit this week stirring a debate among viewers about cyclist safety.

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The short three-second clip shows the BMX rider speed off a path, lose control of his bike and slide onto the road, before a police van hits him. The rider, who isn’t wearing a helmet, miraculously avoids injury.

Well... at least @VancouverPD were on scene right away 😝 A heart in throat moment for sure. pic.twitter.com/zXCcqszFZ0 — Village Whisperer (@village_whisper) August 18, 2019

Vancouver police media relations officer Const. Steve Addison confirmed the rider escaped unharmed and was apologetic about the incident.

“The police officer offered assistance to the cyclist, who was uninjured, and was able to carry on after apologizing for causing the collision,” Addison told Vancouver Is Awesome.

In comments on Twitter people were quick to blame the rider for his actions, questioning where his helmet was and labeling cyclists “careless.”

The video was previously posted on Reddit, to the subreddit pages r/BMX and r/Vancouver but it has since been deleted.

The rider in the video, appears to go by the Reddit user name worlddeece and posted to both pages explaining his actions.

“Bottom line — I’m an idiot,” he wrote.

“This mistake had nothing to do with lack of brakes or helmet, I put myself in this position regardless of precaution.

“I made a bad mistake going down this hill the way I did and I’m lucky to be alive.”

A comment posted to Reddit allegedly about the incident that occurred by Reddit user worlddeece.

He goes on to write that taking risks is part of what he loves about BMX, but on this occasion the risk was poorly managed.

“I understand that for some people this lifestyle doesn’t make sense but for me it’s a passion to push the boundaries of what is possible,” worlddeece wrote.

A comment posted to Reddit allegedly about the incident that occurred by Reddit user worlddeece.

The BMX rider finishes the post by thanking the police officer.

“Thankfully the officer was very concerned about me and was nice enough to let me off with just a sore ass,” worlddeece wrote.

“I am embarrassed to put our VPD in such a negative situation and honoured to say that on this day our city blessed me with a charitable policeman who has a good heart. I will forever feel indebted to him for slamming on his brakes and saving my life.”

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