Two cyclists dead and two seriously injured on a grim day on Britain's roads

Two cyclists today lost their lives on a grim day, in what is turning out to be a grim month for cycling casualties on UK roads. Two other cyclists were seriously injured in other incidents too.

The first reported fatality of the day occurred as the result of a collision involving a cyclist and a bus in Croydon, the second happened a short time later when another cyclist was killed in a hit and run incident involving a lorry in Nantwich, Cheshire. Police have issued a witness appeal to try and track down the driver of the lorry involved.

Earlier in the day two more cyclists were seriously injured, one when in collision with a bus in Kennington, South London; and the other in an incident involving a car on the A362 in Radstock, Somerset.

The unnamed 40-year-old man involved in the Croydon incident is the 11th London cyclist to die this year. Yesterday it was announced that architect Francis Golding had become the 10 cyclist to die in London in 2013 succumbing to the injuries he received when in collision with a coach. On the same day Mr Golding received his fatal injuries 62 year old Brian Holt became the 9th cyclist to die in London this year when he was killed by a tipper truck as he cycled along Barclays Cycle Superhighway CS2 on Mile End Road.

All three cyclists killed in London in the past week died as a result of collisions with much larger vehicles, and three out of four of today’s serious incidents involved cyclists and either buses or lorries.

Croydon

The incident that led to the cyclist’s death in Croydon happened at the junction of Cherry Orchard Road and Addiscombe Road at around noon today and involved a 410 bus.

The location, outside East Croydon railway station, has tram tracks but it is not known whether they were a factor in the incident.

London Ambulance Service attended the scene, as did firefighters and police as well as the Helicopter Emergency Medical Service. The man was taken by ambulance to St George’s Hospital, Tooting, at 1pm but was pronounced dead at 1.20pm, reports the Croydon Guardian.

In a statement, London Ambulance Service said:

We were called just before midday to reports of a road traffic collision involving a bus and cyclist at Station Approach, Croydon.

Our staff treated three patients. The cyclist, a man, was in cardiac arrest. Extensive efforts were made to resuscitate him at the scene before he was taken to St George's Hospital escorted by the doctor from the air ambulance.

Our staff treated two further female patients, one of who was taken unwell and was taken to Croydon University Hospital.

The other female patient was treated for shock but was not taken to hospital.

The driver of the bus is believed to be one of the women who was treated.

It is unclear whether the cyclist’s cardiac arrest was a contributory factor to the incident, or whether it arose as a result of the collision.

One eyewitness named Matthew, who was travelling on a tram, told the Croydon Guardian: “I saw the bike cut in front of the bus and it didn’t stop in time so the bike went under the bus.

“The bus stopped quickly but the cyclist was under it. I feel really sorry for those involved. I could hear the tram driver in his cabin saying ‘why did you do that’ when the cyclist cut across.

“There have been quite a few incidents recently with people getting hit by buses, it is not nice at all.”

Another witness, motorist Darren Jones, told the Croydon Advertiser: “I turned the corner and saw the bus go over the cyclist, I've never seen anything like it.

"Almost as soon as it happened a load of police officers ran out of a nearby building.

"A man driving a van behind me called for an ambulance driver.

"A woman, who looked like the driver of the bus, got out of the bus. She looked in total shock, really panicked.

"The bike rider looked in a very bad way."

Earlier, the Metropolitan Police had issued a statement in relation to the cyclist involved in the collision with a bus in Kennington this morning, which read:

A 46-year-old male cyclist is now in a serious but stable condition in hospital following a serious road traffic collision this morning.

Police were called by London Ambulance Service at 0845hrs on Tuesday, 12 November to reports of a bus in collision with a cyclist in Kennington Park Road junction with Kennington Road, SE11. The cyclist, a 46-year-old man, was been taken to a south London hospital in a critical condition.

His condition is now serious but stable. The bus stopped at the scene. The driver has not been arrested. Local road closures are in place. Enquiries are continuing.

Nantwich hit and run

Cheshire Police have issued a witness appeal to try and track down the driver of a lorry involved in a lunchtime collision that left a cyclist dead.

Cheshire Today reports that the fatal collision took place at 1.40pm close to Baddeley Bridge on the A530 Whitchurch Road in Aston, as both the lorry and the cyclist headed towards Whitchurch.

The rider died at the scene, however the driver of the lorry – described by Cheshire Constabulary as light coloured with blue or green markings on the side – failed to stop.

Anyone witnessing the incident, or who has information regarding it, is requested to call Cheshire Police on 101 quoting incident number 453 of 12 November, or the charity Crimestoppers, anonymously, on 0800 555 111.

While the benefits of cycling continue to significantly outweigh the risks the catalogue of cycling deaths an injuries of the last few days comes just dayss after Department for Transport casualty statistics showed that cycling casualties have started to rise both nationally and in London despite a significant downward trend for other types of transport, and for motorists in particular. The prevalence of large vehicles in all of these fatal incidents can only lead to further calls for action to improve road layouts, driver and cycling education, and the designs of lorries and buses.