Woman warns others to stay vigilant in viral video following incident on Niagara Falls bike path
Bianca Falsetti is used to riding her bike alone along a bike path in Niagara Falls that overlooks the gorge. However, over the weekend, she experienced something she never thought would happen to her. She says a man approached her, put his hands on the handle bars, and prevented her from moving.
'I literally just froze and did nothing and was in disbelief,' she told News 4.
Falsetti isn't sure what the man wanted, but whatever he was saying to her didn't make sense. With the man gripping the handle bars, she wasn't able to bike away and was scared for her safety. She said this happened around 4 p.m. on Saturday.
A couple riding their bikes, along the same path, saw what was happening and intervened.
'The wife was just like, 'get off of her right now, are you crazy?' And I think she spooked him a little and he backed off and let go of my handle bars,' Falsetti said.
Falsetti posted the encounter on social media to warn women not to be outdoors by themselves in Niagara Falls.
'Women and everyone in general just need to be safe,' she said. 'I've had a lot of women reach out and say something similar has happened to them, either on this path or on a different area near us.'
Falsetti is encouraging women to use the buddy method, carry an air horn to make noise and share their location with friends and family when they're out.
'I know so many people are like, oh go somewhere that's safer, go somewhere like this place or that place, but this was a friendly reminder that things can happen anywhere,' Falsetti said. 'It doesn't matter how nice the neighborhood is or where you are. My message was about situational awareness, if you can ride with a friend, and always be vigilant.'
Falsetti is hoping to reconnect with the couple who helped her to thank them in person.
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Sarah Minkewicz is an Emmy-nominated reporter and Buffalo native who has been a part of the News 4 team since 2019. Follow Sarah on Twitter @SarahMinkewicz and click here to see more of her work.
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