Hull Daily Mail

Lucky teen says fatal crash was avoidable

HULL TEEN WAS KNOCKED OFF BIKE LAST YEAR

- By NATHAN STANDLEY nathan.standley@reachplc.com @nathan_standley

A HULL teenager who was knocked off his bicycle by a car on the Anlaby Road flyover last year has said the accident that tragically killed ten-year-old Steven Duffield could have been avoided.

Bradley Friend, an 18-year-old college student, had been cycling along the roadside with two friends on July 7 last year, returning home from a charity boxing night in memory of 22-year-old Dillon Denton, who had passed away in March after accidental­ly inhaling poisonous fumes while sat in his car.

But as they went over the Anlaby Road flyover, a car clipped Bradley’s back wheel and sent him flying over his handlebars and crashing into his friend riding in front.

“I jumped up straight away checking myself for cuts and bruises,” he said.

“I still have the scar under my nose from that night and when I saw the blood gushing from it I started to pass out.”

He said two bystanders walking nearby saw what had happened and rushed to their aid before calling an ambulance.

Bradley’s bicycle was destroyed, but the car and the person who had been driving it were nowhere to be seen. They have never been caught or held responsibl­e for what happened.

Bradley was taken to the intensive care unit at Hull Royal Infirmary and kept in a neck and back brace over fears that he may have suffered long-term damage to his spine.

While there was thankfully no such injuries, Bradley said he still struggles with occasional pain and stiffness in his limbs more than one year on.

“The nurses were saying I was lucky I could still move,” he said. “It was all very serious, I thought I could have broken my leg too.”

Bradley’s accident had taken place just yards away from where ten-yearold Steven Duffield was tragically killed after being hit by a car on the same road while riding his bicycle.

His friend who had been riding with him was also rushed to hospital with serious injuries.

After seeing the news, Bradley said he was reminded of his own near-miss and believes that similar accidents could have been avoided.

“It’s so upsetting, he was a young boy,” he said.

“It could have been resolved before now by widening the path and putting a cycle lane on there instead of cyclists using the bridge.

“Still, to this day, I don’t like seeing cars pulling out and I try and ride on the path. It means I get shouted at by members of the public now, but it’s just because I feel safer on the path.”

Tributes to ten-year-old Steven were left at the scene of the crash last week, while several people gathered in West Park to release balloons in his memory.

 ??  ?? Bradley Friend was 17 when he was struck by a car while riding his bicycle in Anlaby Road
Bradley Friend was 17 when he was struck by a car while riding his bicycle in Anlaby Road
 ??  ?? Steven Duffield, 10, tragically died in an accident in Anlaby Road
Steven Duffield, 10, tragically died in an accident in Anlaby Road

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