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Coroner baffled as to how cyclist suffered head injuries on country lane near Farnham

Road surface and alcohol thought to have been factors

An inquest held at Basingstoke Law Courts has been unable to shed light on how a 57-year-old cyclist sustained massive head injuries on a quiet country lane near Farnham. "It’s most odd, isn’t it?” said coroner Andrew Bradley. “We’ll never know what happened.”

Get Surrey reports how Patrick Williams was found near Bower Hill in Dockenfield just before 5pm on Sunday July 12. While riding without a cycle helmet, he had somehow suffered a "catastrophic" brain injury and died two days later in hospital.

An eyewitness, Nicholas Harris, told the inquest that he had been looking for road signs for Frensham when he saw a body tangled up in a bike. “I could see he was in a bad way as there was blood on his head and a puddle of blood on the road. I spoke to him, but it was obvious he was unconscious and [he] didn’t respond.”

Harris ran to his car to get a blanket to put over Williams, while a woman went to get a doctor. An air ambulance then attended the scene.

Havant-based roads policing officer, PC John Bridgeman-Hills, said he couldn’t understand how Williams could have fallen.

“It’s a very rural location and the area isn’t known as a high traffic accident site. It’s an area well-known to Mr Williams. It’s his local area. I can’t conceive how he would particularly lose control of the bike at that point. I’m a keen cyclist myself and that particular junction should have been easy to ride on a bike."

The court heard that Williams had been to the gym earlier in the day and upon returning home had asked his wife if she wanted a glass of wine. He then watched Wimbledon on television before going out for a bike ride.

Williams’ blood alcohol level was around twice the legal limit for driving and Eastleigh-based forensic collision investigator, PC Tracey Saunders, said that this was a factor.

She found no evidence of vehicular debris and no visible lock-up marks on the road and said it seemed that Williams had been riding along the road when he fell from his bike while taking a left-hand bend.

She said the crash could have been caused by an uneven road surface and Williams’ speed on approaching the bend.

Bradley recorded a verdict of accidental death and said he couldn’t see any particular reason for the crash.

“Unless it was the alcohol and the interaction with the road surface and he just got it wrong," he said. "It’s most odd, isn’t it? We’ll never know what happened.”

Alex has written for more cricket publications than the rest of the road.cc team combined. Despite the apparent evidence of this picture, he doesn't especially like cake.

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6 comments

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vonhelmet | 8 years ago
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Knowing how my balance on a bike goes to pieces after a few pints, I don't think it would necessarily take a near miss to cause a fall.

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Bez | 8 years ago
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Perhaps misjudgment, perhaps misfortune, perhaps "clipped" by a car, perhaps all of the above. We will never know. Possibly best not to make a unilateral decision as to the cause of the incident when a coroner's inquest failed to ascertain it.

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ianrobo | 8 years ago
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maybe a shame for his family, but twice over drink drive limit and likely to have been much more when starting the ride.

stupid

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ChrisB200SX replied to ianrobo | 8 years ago
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I'm not sure that's entirely fair, I believe they calculate blood alcohol level backwards, I'm not quite sure how that would be calculated in this scenario though.

It could have been a close/dangerous pass that made him fall off, but I guess we'll never know?

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hylozoist replied to ianrobo | 8 years ago
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ianrobo wrote:

maybe a shame for his family, but twice over drink drive limit and likely to have been much more when starting the ride.

stupid

That's a pretty callous attitude towards someone who has died - for unknown reasons - while riding their bike. One best reserved for people who manage to kill themselves by driving their car drunk in my view.

Drunk cycling is not in the same league as drunk driving morally, as the main victim is likely to be the cyclist themselves, and some have even claimed that it's not such a problem (although there's probably a study out there somewhere to prove black is white).

I wouldn't personally get on a bike plastered, but I've certainly cycled after I've had more than I would be comfortable driving after.

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tatsky | 8 years ago
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Poor guy.

Not much detail here, but almost sounds like he has come to a junction, slowed/stopped/track stand, lost his balance and toppled off the bike.

What a real shame.

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