Man feared dying after being struck by car and claims incident was "targeted"
A 23-year-old man has been arrested for multiple driving offences and grievous bodily harm
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Man feared dying after being struck by car and claims incident was “targeted”
Artist Tosin says he had to ‘run for his life’ as he claims the car attempted to strike him multiple times before sending him “flying.”
STORY BY MELISSA SIGODO
APRIL 23, 2026
A man who was hit by a car in what he believes was a “targeted attack” has spoken for the first time since the incident we reported on last week.
Tosin, 30, an artist from London says he felt his “life was at risk” when a car allegedly drove head-on into his lane as he cycled in east London in the early hours of the morning on Sunday, April 12.
The master’s student claims the car attempted to hit him multiple times and that a witness told him he “flew” into the air after eventually being knocked off the public Santander bike he was riding.
Now, the 30-year-old has revealed that he doesn’t recognise himself and avoids leaving home after losing several teeth which he is raising money to fix urgently as replacing them could take six months on the NHS.
Police say a 23-year-old man has been arrested for multiple driving offences and grievous bodily harm and that he has since been bailed until July.
They added that the incident was not being treated as racially aggravated.
Speaking exclusively to the Community Reporter, Tosin said he was left in “shock” and “disbelief” after what began as a sunny day and ended with him in hospital.
The 30-year-old who is currently completing a master’s degree in arts says he was on his way to film in London’s Victoria Park for a project before he was hit.
He said: “I knew it was going to be quite a sunny day, so I was cycling and was quite appreciative of the day and the moment. There weren’t many people on the road, so it was quite a free place.
“I was feeling really kind of liberal just kind of letting the air blow.”
The student claims he then saw a car ahead which swerved into his lane and then swerved out moments before it could have struck him.
He said: “That really shook me. I was really shaken.
“As it was coming towards me, it suddenly swerves into my path, then, all of a sudden, coming at speed, it swerves out my path at the last moment.
“I really had to just kind of pause for a moment. I almost was trying to take myself off the road.
“I’m like, ‘What’s just happened? Was it real? Does anyone see that?’ I was looking around, but there was no one because it was just kind of early.”
Tosin claims that he “dodged” the vehicle which came at him again multiple times but that it “tired him out” and eventually struck him.
He says he believes it was “targeted.”
The student said: “I think I was 100% targeted. They left the scene and came back. I think it was clear that they wanted to hit me. I was running from my life. So in that moment, I was 100% targeted.”
But eventually, he says that the car struck him and that it was only when a stranger approached him as he rushed to get to safety - that he realised what had happened.
He said: “I was more focussed on the safety of my [filming] equipment, trying to get out of the space as soon as they had left the scene and getting home to safety.
“I was freaking out. That had never happened to me before.
“Just hearing that stranger's voice say, ‘ you went flying’, kind of put things in perspective because I was like, ‘Oh, that really did happen.’
For days afterwards, Tosin says he was still in shock and that the incident impacted his studies and his finances.
He said: “I’m someone who’s quite athletic so it’s a shock to the system. You have legs that are at 10% now.
“I’m struggling to walk. I’m struggling to sit down. The transition between sitting down and standing is really difficult.
“Everything’s just had to take a massive pushback. Everything’s been cancelled. I’ve had to delay the masters.
“There’s a lot of freelance work I was doing on the side, so I’ve lost a lot money from that.”
The 30-year-old added that he’s worried about the surgeries he’ll have to endure.
He said: “It was horrible because I was then confronted with a loss of teeth. I had teeth loose.
“It’s hard to eat. I just have struggled to eat every day since. I was told it could take six months [to have them fixed] if I were to wait for the NHS.
“The emergency service was only able to do part of the operation, and they encouraged me to pursue other dentists to complete the operation.
“They were talking about the different types of operations that were needed and it got me really scared.”
Tosin has now launched a GoFundMe to pay for his teeth to be fixed urgently so that he can return to living a normal life and begin stepping out of the house without feeling self-conscious.
So far, it has raised £1,541 out of its £2,000 target which he says shows how “kind” people can be and that it made him feel “loved.”
He says he also wants to raise awareness about road safety.
Tosin said: “It’s really kind. I think the support from communities made me feel loved and that I can kind of get through this, and we can move forward.”
A Metropolitan Police spokesperson said: “A 23-year-old man was arrested on Sunday, 19 April for multiple driving offences and grievous bodily harm following a road traffic collision in Globe Road, E2 on Sunday, 12 April. He has since been bailed until July.
“The victim, who was cycling at the time, reported the collision after he visited hospital. His injuries were confirmed as non-life changing.
“The incident is not being treated as a racially aggravated hate crime.”
For more details about the GoFundMe, click here.