LETHAL POTHOLE
4 complaints about road before cyclist died in crash
A kEEN cyclist died when she was thrown into the path of a car after hitting a ‘massive’ pothole on a road whose poor state of repair had been the subject of complaints.
Alison Doyle, 47, was nearing the end of a 50-mile ride with her cycling club when she lost control after hitting the hole, which was at least 15in long and 2.5in deep.
The parish councillor and nurse, who had survived breast cancer in 2016, suffered serious injuries and died at the scene.
An inquest heard yesterday that there had been at least four complaints in a year about the poor quality of bold lane in Aughton, lancashire, where the accident happened.
In response to the tragedy on August 19 last year, engineers from lancashire county council visited the scene and filled in the pothole that same day. Preston coroner’s court was told that the road was inspected every three months for defects. The last examination, in June, had not shown any potholes worthy of repair – those deeper than 1.5in. However, by September – a month after the accident – 17 defects or potholes had been identified.
Richard borrett, representing Mrs Doyle’s family, questioned whether it was ‘surprising’ that such a large hole had opened in a small space of time. David Vincent, a highways inspector, accepted it was unusual but admitted that potholes were ‘not an exact science’ and one could have occurred.
Mrs Doyle, a mother of two grown-up sons, had been on a Sunday ride with her club, Sefton Velo, based in her home town of Maghull, Merseyside, when the accident happened around 1pm. Triathlete Diane Whorton, riding behind Mrs Doyle, said six riders were travelling at around 20mph along the shallow descent.
Miss Whorton said: ‘All I heard was the rattle of a bike and hiss of puncture. a wheel, I like saw someone Alison losing had a control and swerving into the other side of the road where there was a car.
‘There was nothing she could do. The only thing in the road was a massive pothole, the sort you can’t see from a distance. It was the only thing she could have hit.’ Another rider, Rob Smith, vice-captain of the club, added: ‘I remember seeing Alison lose control of the bike, it was quite violent the way it occurred. Normally, when you hit a pothole you carry on but she hit and went diagonally. She went off at a 45 degree angle into the other carriageway.’
Police found no defects on Mrs Doyle’s bicycle or the Ford ka involved on the collision. They concluded the pothole caused her to lose control and veer into the oncoming vehicle.
coroner Richard Taylor recorded that Mrs Doyle died in a road traffic collision. He said: ‘The question remains about what sort of pothole there was [on the road] in June. The records say there was no defect. There could have been rough surface [that was] not deep enough or deemed to be a safety hazard. I accept that.’
In a statement, Mrs Doyle’s family said she had dedicated her career to the NHS, specialising in palliative care and educational reform.
They added that it was particularly cruel that the nature lover had died after being given a second chance at life by surviving cancer. ‘ After recovering, her perspective on life had changed. Her brush with death fuelling a second lease of life,’ they said.
It is understood Mrs Doyle’s family are likely to pursue a civil claim for compensation against lancashire county council. Rachel botterill, a solicitor for Mrs Doyle’s family, said: ‘ The coroner found that Alison had hit a pothole which had not been identified as a hazard when the highway was last inspected, two months before her death.
‘It is important to now investigate with the council whether its inspection procedure was thorough and had taken account of dangers to all road users, including vulnerable road users such as cyclists.’
‘She had survived breast cancer’