2012-03-23 - Rider Down/Fatality, Deptford Church Street (London)

condolences YellowJxC. very sad news.

dan, good of you to talk to the friends, and how you always take an interest in your local community.

So very sad.
RIP TJ.

http://www.newsshopper.co.uk/news/9611848.17_year_old_cyclist_killed_in_Deptford_hit_and_run/

I found out last night it was TJ that was involved in the crash. My heart sank hard. I went to the same school as him in the same year and same english and ICT class. He was a brother to me. I saw him only a few days before this accident it still hasnt hit me yet that's he's gone. It's way too sudden. I went to where it happened and couldn't believe the damage that was done. I laid my flowers there today and saw all my other school friends we stood where the car had hit the steel railings reminiscing about the times TJ made an impact on us. He was deputy head boy and Prom King. Absolute swell guy. Never caused trouble and minded his own business. He never ever deserved this to happen to him. R.I.P TJ.

I had a hunch that you knew him Jackie. Really sorry to hear that. People were speaking about him so warmly last night.

RIP

Very sad indeed.

Terrible stuff. Condolences to all hereabouts and obviously to his friends who aren't on here.

Thanks for spotting and linking the newsshopper article, wvm, and thanks Jackie, for your comments on the local crossfields.blogspot.com post.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-london-17504953 rip

Very sad to hear of this. Waste of a young life. Condolences to family and friends.

Thanks for the messages guys. Just got word that police found the guy but he's on bail. Are you even allowed on bail if you were involved in a death of another?

Edit: Just repeated what the BBC article said. Sorry.

If somebody is not a flight risk or a risk to the public or themselves then I think they can be deemed eligible for bail. Lets not debate here.We will prob never know the full circumstances or the reasoning behind the decision.

Too sad. Rest in peace young man.

rip tj

So sad, what a tragic waste of life. Condolences to those who knew him.

Another tragic waste of a young life.RIP TJ

RIP TJ: http://www.thisislondon.co.uk/news/london/tribute-to-special-guy-killed-in-hitandrun-7585657.html
I hope they throw the book at the scum that did this

RIP TJ.

Another stupid waste of a life.

People, if you witnessed this, or know someone who did, contact the old bill who are appealing for witnesses.

i didnt know tj too well but he always gave me that friendly nod every time i saw him, rest in peace

i didnt know tj too well but he always gave me that friendly nod every time i saw him, rest in peace

I didn't think I knew him but totally recognise him from the photos in the paper...always on his bike and always ready with a smile to other cyclists.

So sad. Front page of the South London Press today.
RIP TJ and condolences to family and friends.

I've asked the Crossfields Tenants Association whether the Sue Godfrey Nature Park just by the accident site could be used to commemorate TJ in some way - perhaps a tree planted in his honour, but any ideas welcome. It's got to be a more tranquil place to remember someone than on the railings in the middle of a dual carriageway and I'd rather something living than withering on railings. Sue Godfrey, a committed local naturalist, died some 20 years ago under the wheels of a left turning lorry in Catford.

^Good call, Marmoset. I'm on Crossfields also, and will second your suggestion to the Tenants Association.

Driver was arrested, then bailed after handing himself in to the cops, but not before taking all the options a scumbag can think of:

• Leaving the scene
  
• Driving back to the scene to check how badly he'd f*ked up
  
• Leaving the scene again
  
• Abandoning his motor in a side-street and legging it
  
  

TJ was a teenager, of Nigerian background, and always on his bike. For cultural reasons, this is pretty unusual. He was truly well-thought of and respected.

To make it clear to those who haven't clicked the links, TJ was crossing Deptford Church Street on the toucan crossing when the car struck him.

I don't know the state of the lights and other details when he was crossing, but it's a dodgy crossing simply because it is in the middle of a straight on a fast dual-carriageway. Drivers don't keep to the limit, and don't look for the lights. Even when they are on red, drivers are reluctant to stop.

It's best to cross there as if you are not actually at an official crossing, and it's dangerous even then.

RIP TJ. Condolences to family and friends. Brings it home reading the messages above from people on here that knew him. Sounds like a genuinely decent bloke and a sad, unneccessary loss.

I don't know the state of the lights and other details when he was crossing, but it's a dodgy crossing simply because it is in the middle of a straight on a fast dual-carriageway. Drivers don't keep to the limit, and don't look for the lights. Even when they are on red, drivers are reluctant to stop.

It's best to cross there as if you are not actually at an official crossing, and it's dangerous even then.

It is most definitely not the place to discuss the circumstances of this horrible death but I have to agree with you as a local. Deptford Church Street is horrendous at times. You just have to look at the damage to the central reserations/walls and roundabout to see how often vehicles lose control. I witnessed a lorry driver lose concentration and smash into the wall in the middle of the road a few months back.

The crossing where TJ was killed is pretty much the only place that a pedestrian or cyclist is able to cross on that road. Lets not speculate any further than that, we do not know what happened and even if we did that discussion isn't for here.

I saw some of TJ's friends yesterday and them, like me (as somebody who never spoke to him) feel pretty damn numb. I struggle to imagine how his family are feeling.

If ribs not too sore tomorrow, I'll pop round to pay my respect.

RIP TJ. There are a lot of people missing you.

I go past the spot twice a day. I didn't know him, but numb is about right.