Shinboner of the Century Glenn Archer will appear in Heidelberg Magistrates Court in July to face driving charges stemming from an alleged accident in January.
Archer, 49, is alleged to have struck cyclist Mark Vander, 58, with his truck on Rosanna Road, Heidelberg, with the Norm Smith medallist reportedly departing the scene without stopping.
According to reports fromย The Age, the 311-game stopper is facing charges of careless driving and failing to keep a safe distance when overtaking.
Mr Vander was said to have been left to crawl from the busy four-lane road after being hit by the truck and trailer vehicle allegedly driven by Archer.
โHe just swerved in and took me out, drove off, didn't stop,โ Vander said.
Mr Vander spent two nights in Melbourne's Royal Melbourne Hospital recovering from an array of injuries, however, the mental scars from the alleged accident earlier this summer are still smarting.
โI just get angry all the time now ... mentally it just breaks you,โ Vander said.
โTo leave me dying in the ditch and drive off.
โIt could have been a lot worse ... if I wasn't wearing such a good helmet, I wouldn't be here telling the story.โ
In response, Archer - now a tree removalist - claimed that he had no idea that his vehicle had made contact with Vander, expressing that given the speed he was travelling and weight he was carrying, it was tough to be sure of alleged incidents of this nature.
โOn the day I had absolutely no idea,โ the 1996 Norm Smith medallist was quoted byย The Age.
โWhen you're driving a truck there's a lot of weight ... I was carrying a trailer with a machine on the back ... multiple tonnes.โ
Mr Vander is said to have made contact with Archer's business on several occasions since January, however, the decorated defender initialy believed these advances to be a hoax.
โI thought, wow I did knock the guy off the bike, because at the start we were getting phone calls asking for money, I thought it was a scam," Archer told after being shown dashcam footage.
Archer spent 16 seasons at Arden Street, bowing out with two premierships, three All-Australian blazers and a place in the North Melbourne Team of the Century.
His son, Jackson, is now ensconced in the Roos' huddle after being drafted as a father-son selection with the 59th pick of the 2021 AFL Draft.
