2012-07-15 - Rider Down/Fatality, Stonor (Henley On Thames)

Denisa Perinova, 21, suffered head injuries and broken ribs in the incident on Sunday, July 15.

Two ambulances and the air ambulance were sent to the scene and medics found the café waitress unconscious and fitting. She was taken to the Royal Berkshire Hospital in Reading and later transferred to the intensive care unit at the John Radcliffe Hospital in Oxford, where she died on Sunday — a week after the accident.

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Very sad x

sad news. thanks for posting.

R.i.p

That is one of the nicest roads in the area, such a shame to hear about a fatality on it. I like the tributes to the rider in that news item, I will cycle over to that cafe and donate.

very sad but absolutely no news about the driver who was overtaking cyclists on the the other side of the road at the time. Obviously with cyclists on both sides of the road, passing one another this is not the right moment to do so. I would expect at least a mention of this fact and whether the driver is being investigated fro wrongdoing.

All in all a sad tale, I've quite enjoyed riding henley of late. Will keep off this stretch.

Very sad news, again a road which I use quite regularly. Will pop into the cafe next time I ride through Henley.

Tragic news.

RIP

that poor girl and family.

Rip.

RIP - awful.

I use this thinking it a safer alternative to the A4130.

A friend of mine was killed cycling on the A4130, and we all said at the time if only he had gone up the Stonor valley. The locals are now trying to stop cyclists training for and racing in the Henley triathlon on that road because of the risk. Why can't drivers just slow down, or the council reduce the speed limit?

What's bad about these stretches of road in particular or is it nothing and just bad driving again?

The A4130 from Henley to Bix is scary, as the road bends to the right cyclists in front of a driver aren't easy to see, so a racing Transit van driver, checking his mirrors to pull in as he overtakes isn't aware of two cyclists ahead, and plows into them, killing one of them.
http://www.getreading.co.uk/news/s/2040153_anthony_maynards_father_questions_cps_decision
The Stonor road has bends that drivers go around with no chance of stopping in the distance they can see ahead. A couple of times I have had cars lock up as they panic brake behind me, although not recently, as there are now so many cyclists using it, it seems to have raised drivers awareness a bit

The locals are now trying to stop cyclists training for and racing in the Henley triathlon on that road because of the risk. Why can't drivers just slow down, or the council reduce the speed limit?

I agree completely, they should be promoting cycling in the beautiful countryside they have, rather than pandering to the needs of motorists blasting acrosscountry.

Wow, that's unbelievable that they can just drop the case like that. I've not ridden those roads but Marlow to Stokenchurch sounds similar with the bends and drivers going too fast to stop. Passing at stupid times is another problem over there.

What's bad about these stretches of road in particular or is it nothing and just bad driving again?

All around the Chilterns there are similar stories - roads with high banks and tall hedges so a car can't see around corners, the roads are often winding because they're ancient cart tracks but they've been flattened out, widened and the corners smoothed over the years, so in places they drive like a race track. It ends up with whole stretches of country road that you can race down without dipping below 70mph if you know them well - and you're fine, so long as there isn't a stationary or slow-moving obstruction in the road. One of the guys I went to school with was killed a couple of years ago when he drove his motorbike into the back of a tractor early one morning. He'd travelled that road every day for 15 years - you just get complacent after a while.

The problem isn't the cyclists themselves, it's the car drivers' expectation that there won't be any kind of obstruction in the road just around the next bend, too close to stop in time. But after years of driving the same road the same way, people just don't expect it - that's human nature. As a cyclist though, unless you've lived in the area for a while it can be hard to tell if it's one of that kind of road.

A friend of mine was killed cycling on the A4130, and we all said at the time if only he had gone up the Stonor valley. The locals are now trying to stop cyclists training for and racing in the Henley triathlon on that road because of the risk. Why can't drivers just slow down, or the council reduce the speed limit?

I see the 'remember me' sign every day. My mate goes the A4130 when he rides to/from work and I go the Stonor road, at least there's fewer cars but I won't nag him quite so much now.

The area around Stonor is very popular with sportives and riders in general.

I can't go near the spot. I still have his bike in my shed, his parents couldn't bear to see it. I can't bear to go in the shed now, it is an awful thing.

I can't go near the spot. I still have his bike in my shed, his parents couldn't bear to see it. I can't bear to go in the shed now, it is an awful thing.

I am so sorry to hear that. The sign gives me pause for thought 5 evenings a week.

I visited the Stonor site last week. The accident signs were on a narrow sharp bend. No way to overtake anything in that place.

http://www.henleystandard.co.uk/news/news.php?id=1363185

Touching article that accurately sums up the state of "justice" cyclists receive.

Having seen the first cyclist, she “decided to proceed straight ahead”. The first cyclist, Ben Pontin, managed to avoid the oncoming car by braking and taking evasive action but the driver did not see the second cyclist, Denisa, until the cyclist fell into her line of travel.

Now that paint a whole different picture.

That is so, so sad.

I'm not angry, yet, but really upset.

The whole story is an utter travesty. No mention of the character of the victim, but a load to "defend" the driver.
She was by her own admission on the wrong side of the road, and caused Denisa's death, and was exonerated.
Utterly disgusting.