2012-01-07 - Rider Down/Fatality, Upper Elmers End Road (London)

James Darby died in Hospital on 22nd January following an incident with on the 7th.
Police are currently looking for witnesses.

Citation

This was the first death on London's streets this year although it was reported after Henry Warwicks.

My sincere condolences to Mr Darby's friends and family.

Report from a few days after the incident whilst the rider was still in hospital.

Second citation of his death.

Sickening. Feel for the family & friends.

But

The car was parked on Upper Elmers End Road and as the female driver was getting out of her car, Mr Darby collided with the driver's door.

How about "as Mr Darby was riding by, the female* driver opened the door into him" because that's what actually happens isnt it.
Like all these riders who "collide" with buses and lorrys and cars. Fatalities are rare without the intervention of these supposedly innocent vehicle's operators.

I hope this woman faces up to the truth and admits it. A moments carelessness costs a man his life, how fucking tragic.

*not significant but it's theoretically relevant to the witness appeal.

I agree with you but this thread is not the place to discuss the media's piss poor choice of language when describing incidents.

There are however two other threads currently running which I would urge you to join in (If you haven't already).

Frightening that doorings kill. Will the driver be found at fault with or without witnesses?

RIP James Darby.

RIP and condolences
Car dooring = prosecution.

I've passed the scene of this terrible event a few times in recent weeks and seen the police signs appealing for witnesses, but didn't know until now that a cyclist was the victim.

What a terrible waste. My condolences to the family and friends of James Darby.

It's amazing how something so simple can easily cause the untimedly death of a person, my condolences to James' families and friends.

I do think it's relevant to discuss the language used by the press in this case. The News Shopper and Bromley Times are my local papers and until now they have been reporting that a cyclist hit a stationary car. They must have known about the door. The impression given in the media has been that it was his own fault. I find this shocking. RIP James Darby and my deepest condolences to his family.

I do think it's relevant to discuss the language used by the press in this case. The News Shopper and Bromley Times are my local papers and until now they have been reporting that a cyclist hit a stationary car. They must have known about the door. The impression given in the media has been that it was his own fault. I find this shocking. RIP James Darby and my deepest condolences to his family.

Write to the paper. The reporter will probably be glad of the advice.

I do think it's relevant to discuss the language used by the press in this case. The News Shopper and Bromley Times are my local papers and until now they have been reporting that a cyclist hit a stationary car. They must have known about the door. The impression given in the media has been that it was his own fault. I find this shocking. RIP James Darby and my deepest condolences to his family.

I can only offer my condolences to James' family and friends.
I absoluetley agree about the language, it certainly does nothing to ease their pain to report in such a biased way, as I know from bitter experience

That's terrible, both that the poor man lost his life, and that the papers are reporting it that way.

So sad. And something so avoidable as a car door. My deepest sympathies to all affected.

Another desperately sad story. Doorings are just a terrible kind of crash. It is dreadful to think that someone died just because someone else didn't look when opening a car door.

Condolences to his family and friends.

unreal...what is happening out there...
Anyway, Rest in peace to James Darby.

A stark reminder of just how vulnerable cyclists are on London's roads. RIP, my condolences to the family.

Another desperately sad story. Doorings are just a terrible kind of crash. It is dreadful to think that someone died just because someone else didn't look when opening a car door.

The cyclist killed by a bus on Holloway Rd last August was also struck an opening car door and was thrown in front of the bus. Apparently a child passenger in the car actually opened the door but the driver is being charged with manslaughter as responsible for the vehicle.

hi, i have to agree with oliver: no inference at all can be made about what happened from what is reported in the papers, and it is much more likely that the woman was just careless and did not look before opening her door rather than maliciously was trying to knock off and kill a cyclist, as suggested by several of the posters on this forum. unfortunately, in incidents such as this, there are many victims - most of them are hidden, even if people like to focus on the obvious one.

as a separate comment, i am pleased to say that cyclists being killed in this manner (i.e. getting knocked off by people opening their car doors) has not been a common cause of death in london in the past. however, with various changes over the years, it is likely to become relatively more frequent... but i guess this is not the place to discuss statistics.

in any case, my condolences to James Darby's family.

I will add, in defence of journalists, that they can only get information about events like this from the police at this stage. Sometimes things are worded certain ways for important reasons that become clear later on. They will get more information from more sources once the inquest takes place. RIP.

hi, i have to agree with oliver: no inference at all can be made about what happened from what is reported in the papers, and it is much more likely that the woman was just careless and did not look before opening her door rather than maliciously was trying to knock off and kill a cyclist.

Malicious or not, it's against the highway code for a reason, carelessness can cost live, as simple as not indicating when changing lane, having a quick check on your mobile, chatting away to your fellow passenger, a mere 5mph over the limit, etc.

I hope this woman faces up to the truth and admits it.

This is a case of sheer bad luck. You are lying if you say you have never opened a car door without looking...I think the driver is probably going through hell so no need to be so polemic about what she should do. A terrible tragedy, but so unlucky.

calski, you maybe ought to edit that post. The responses it deserves would be unedifying on this thread.

RIP rider.

A terrible tragedy, but so unlucky.

A terrible tragedy but the person knew that she should not open the door unless it's safe to do so.

But she did it anyway.

That's that.