THE truck driver who inadvertently ran over a cyclist, dragging him several metres, only stopped after a motorist flagged him down.

The cyclist, 27, suffered two broken legs as he was trapped under the wheels of the Australia Post truck for an hour at 9am.

Police said the St Peters man was riding north on the Princes Hwy at St Peters when he ran into the truck’s rear wheels.

Newtown Inspector Paul Callaghan said the truck was turning left into May St on a green light when the cyclist ran into it.

The cyclist is believed to have been riding in the left hand northbound lane.

media_camera The cyclist’s destroyed bike. Picture: Phil Blatch

media_camera The battered bike lies on the road as the rescue. Picture: Phil Blatch

The driver, 59, was oblivious to the cyclist being caught under his rear wheels until a driver heading north on May St alerted him.

The cyclist was heard screaming in agony with his legs trapped under the wheels of the 14-tonne truck.

Paramedics gave him pain relief as emergency services worked frantically to free him.

When he was finally freed before 10am, after the truck was carefully lifted using a hydraulic jack, he was rushed to Royal Prince Alfred Hospital.

He also suffered a broken pelvis and after undergoing surgery was in a stable condition as of 2.30pm.

The man’s girlfriend is by his side in the Intensive Care Unit.

Mr Callaghan said it appeared the truck driver, who underwent mandatory drug and alcohol testing, was not at fault.

“It was horrific but he (the cyclist) was given immediate pain relief,” he said.

The cyclist’s mangled bicycle was several metres behind where the truck stopped with its front wheel severely damaged.

Harry Kout runs the Yiamas restaurant on the corner of where the crash occurred.

“He was screaming, his legs were swollen, and he had cuts across his chest. His whole body was under the wheels,” he said.

“They had to put blocks at the front (of the truck), to stop it rolling forward, and lift the truck to get him out.

Another witness said it was a shocking scene.

“I had goose bumps. He’s lucky to be alive,” she said.

Another witness in the industrial area also said she heard the cyclist screaming in pain.

Mr Kout said with May St quickly merging into one lane the intersection was an accident hot spot. He also said the Princess Hwy was a popular route for cyclists.

“They either need to continue that clearway for a few hundred metres or just do one lane coming in,” he said.

“There’s a lot of congestion, it’s a bad intersection. There’s 120,000 cars that come through here daily. They’ve got to clear the road up.”

The crash caused significant traffic delays for city bound traffic with the left hand lane of the Princess Hwy closed. May St southbound was also closed as police tried to piece together what had happened.

media_camera Princes Highway’s left lane was closed due to the accident between a truck and bike. Picture: Phil Blatch

Originally published as Truck driver had to be flagged down