Student cried ‘my brakes have gone’ before fatal bicycle crash
an Aspiring vet died when she lost control of her bike on one of the country’s steepest roads, an inquest heard.
august atkinson, 22, was training for a charity bike ride when she careered off the road and smashed into a stone wall at 40mph. Moments earlier she had screamed ‘my brakes have gone’ as she went past a friend.
Forensic examiners found they were not faulty, although her rear tyre was slightly deflated. But her parents believe the brakes on the £1,000 bike they bought her as a birthday present failed at a critical moment, as she was descending the hill in the Peak district in april 2014.
Miss atkinson was just weeks away from graduating from Bristol University when the accident happened. The inquest heard she had owned the touring bike – a genesis Equilibrium – for eight months but had ridden it only twice before the crash.
She was at her parents’ home in oughtibridge, near Sheffield, for the Easter break from university when she decided to go for a ride with friend Kieran Patel ahead of a charity ride from John o’groats to Lands End.
The pair had intended to complete a 25mile ride but a wrong turn meant they ended up cycling nearly 40 miles and were feeling the effects by the time they go to the notorious Winnats Pass near Castleton. The road is one of top ten steepest in the UK.
Mr Patel said: ‘i guess we had a little bit of apprehension about going down Winnats Pass, but nothing major. going down, i was cycling in front. i was constantly using my brakes on and off. august was behind me, coming down steadily – my speedometer said i was going at about 20mph.
‘august came past me on the right-hand side. She must have been travelling at 30 to 40mph. She shouted, “my brakes have gone”. She was freewheeling, she couldn’t stop.’
as Miss atkinson came to a cattle grid at the bottom of the pass and with traffic in her path, she veered off to the right, leaving the road and travelling over the grass before smashing into the wall, which was partially demolished by the impact.
She suffered face and chest injuries and was pronounced dead at the scene.
derbyshire’s assistant Coroner Peter nieto said he was reserving his conclusion to a later date.