Brother will run past scene of sister’s death
THE brother of a Nottinghamshire woman who died after being hit by a lorry is to revisit the site of her death twice in one day.
Suzanna Bull, 32, of Farnsfield, died after being hit by a lorry when she was cycling through Birmingham, at the junction of Edgbaston Road and Pershore Road.
She was training to be a doctor in the city, and her brother Drew, who is also a doctor, is taking part in a half marathon which passes the crash site twice during its route.
Drew, 35, was with his sister when the crash happened on October 9 last year.
The former Nottingham High School pupil will be taking on the 13.1 mile run almost a year to the day of the crash. Suzanne was due to take part in last year’s event but died just five days before.
“It will be a very emotional day,” said Drew who, like his sister, completed a medical degree at University of Birmingham and is now a GP in Bristol.
“The half marathon route takes you down both sides of the Pershore Road, so we’ll go past the accident scene twice.
“It will be very hard, but it may also be therapeutic and make us stronger. I did start picturing what it will be like but had to put it to the back of my mind because it was so upsetting. But I’m sure we’ll be ready to face it when the day comes.
“Suzie was looking forward to running the half marathon last year. We’ll now be running it in her memory.”
Other members of Drew’s eightstrong running group, which is expected to increase further, include girlfriend Amber Morrish, 27, who he lives with in Bristol, Suzanna’s friends Sarah Martin, 28, from Bourneville, and Haydn Griffith-jones, 29, of Solihull, plus his own pal Bashaar Boyce, 32, and wife Cath, 29.
They are running to raise funds for Birmingham Children’s Hospital, where Suzanna was on a six-month GP training placement, to thank them for their help following her death.
Event organisers, the Great Run Company, have also reserved two special numbers for Drew and Amber to wear on the day. Drew will wear 1985, the year of Suzanna’s birth, and Amber 210, the day (2nd) and month (October) Suzanna was born.
“I honestly don’t know what I’ll do on the day,” the Nottingham Forest fan said. When I reach the scene, I may decide to stop and reflect or may get too emotional and sprint past.
“I’ll probably do what feels natural on the day. The same goes for the others. One thing I will do is place flowers there the day before.
“Suzie had such a positive outlook on life. She was bubbly, adventurous, hard-working and put others first. “When I applied to enter the run and typed in my reasons for taking part, I got very emotional.
“Things like that catch you off guard. I still wake up thinking ‘I haven’t spoken to my sister for a while, I must call her.’ Or I watch a programme and think ‘I must tell her about that.’ Then I realise she’s no longer with us.”
The siblings, whose half-brother Jeremy, 47, lives in Cardiff, grew up in Farnsfield, where parents Peter and Elayne still live. Suzanna was laid to rest there.
At the time, a family statement said: “Suzie was only 32, a determined, caring, adventurous young doctor with a great future ahead. We have lost, all too soon, a beautiful daughter, sister and friend to so very many.”