A disturbing video of a Jersey City councilwoman plowing into a cyclist and fleeing the scene has been released.
Amy DeGise’s vehicle was caught on film hitting the cyclist.
Now there are calls for her resignation, but she is not caving, at least not yet.
Why Leave the Scene?
The footage is shocking, to say the least.
It is not so much the cyclist getting hit as it is the car never even slowing down to see if the man was okay…
As a cyclist, I can tell you the cyclist was in the wrong here.
He blatantly went through a red light, but that does not excuse the fact that this woman allegedly hit him then fled the scene.
She would have been exonerated by any witness as well as the traffic cam that proved the cyclist blatantly disregarded the traffic light.
The cyclist, identified as 29-year-old Andrew Black, thought he had the right of way, and was livid after the accident.
He told a local outlet, “[That] someone of prestige would fall to a point where they would ignore the law they are demanding to uphold, and they are trying to clean our streets or whatever they are calling it, they can’t even do it themselves — that really upsets me.”
Again, he is wrong… he clearly had a red light, blew through it, and went into the intersection.
After local outrage and calls for her resignation, DeGise’s spokesperson pushed back, stating, “Councilwoman DeGise was elected overwhelmingly just a few months ago and she has no intention of walking away from the commitment she made to serve the people of Jersey City. She will not resign and plans to complete her full term and continue in public service.
“Amy recognizes the calls that have been made for additional information and transparency.
“She would very much like to address this situation more comprehensively, but there is a legal process that must play out first and she will not be making any additional public comment at this time.”
The statement continued, “As she has said previously, she is thankful that no one was seriously injured and she fully intends to speak out more when the legal process is concluded.
“She will continue working hard to serve the people who elected her, just as she has since she was inaugurated in January.”
The bottom line here is that at fault or not, she fled the scene.
As a local official, I would have to agree, she should be forced to resign.