2012-02-03 - Rider Down/Fatality, Whaplode Drove (Lincolnshire)

This fatality was missed last year:

Tribute to record-holding Lincolnshire cyclist Ken Usher

The family of a record-holding veteran cyclist killed in a road crash said he died doing what he loved best.

Kenneth Edward Usher, 77, was riding his trike in the Lincolnshire village of Whaplode Drove when he was in a crash with a Suzuki Wagon.

Mr Usher, from Crowland, had been a member of cycling clubs which met in areas including Spalding, Peterborough, Cambridge and Icknield.

Police are appealing for witnesses to the crash which happened on 3 February.

In a statement Mr Usher's family said: "It is with the greatest sadness that our father and husband was tragically killed on his trike in an accident.

"Cycling was his life and in his 77 years he held a few good records, including the Mersey 24-Hour.

"He died doing what he loved best and is sorely missed by wife, Gladys, son, Paul, and daughter, Jayne.

"We would like to thank everyone for their support and comfort at this sad time."

Mr Usher's family said he started in the Crouch Hill Cycling Club and joined many others, including the Witham Wheelers and BEC Cycling Club.

He died at the scene of the crash, which happened in Broadgate shortly before 13:00 GMT.

The driver of the car, an 80-year-old Spalding man, was uninjured.

Citation

Here's the outcome of the courtcase:

An elderly motorist accused of causing a fatal crash has been cleared after he told a jury that he was on his correct side of the road when he was involved in a collision which resulted in the death of a cyclist.

Walter Coupland (81), of Winsover Road, Spalding, denied causing the death of cyclist Ken Usher by careless driving on February 3 last year.

The jury of six men and six women cleared him after deliberating for more than six hours at the end of a trial at Lincoln Crown Court.

The collision occurred at lunchtime as Coupland turned left off Broadgate onto Parsons Lane at Whaplode Drove.

At the time he was travelling from Spalding to visit a relative in Throckenholt.

Mr Usher (77), a veteran cyclist who lived in Dowsdale, Crowland, died within minutes of the collision.

At the time of the collision he was out on his daily cycle run riding his custom-built three-wheeler.

Coupland told the jury “I was just my side of the centre white line when the collision occurred.

“You have to take that turning very, very steady. That was what I was doing.

“If you don’t do it like that then you don’t know if there is anybody coming up the road.

“I didn’t expect there would be a collision.

“When the collision happened my windscreen was shattered.

“I didn’t know what it was. It happened so quick.

“In over 50 years of driving I’ve never had a speeding ticket or an accident.

“I’m very sorry for what happened. I did take care. I came round the corner and he was right against the white line.”

Robert Underwood , prosecuting, told the jury the fatal collision was caused by Coupland straying over the centre white line into the wrong carriageway.

He told the jury “Ken Usher was blameless. The cause of the collision was the careless driving of the defendant.

“He drove his car across the centre line road markings and as a consequence he struck Ken Usher.

“We say his driving fell below the standard to be expected of a careful and competent driver.”

Verdict Citation

It's worth noting that this happened on the same day that Henry Warwick was killed in London.