Cyclist “could’ve been killed” in pothole crash

Posted: April 27, 2014

Posted in: Bicycle Accidents Head and Brain Injuries Pothole Injuries Public Place Accidents Road Traffic Accidents 

A cyclist from Bellfields said that he “could’ve been killed” when he was flipped off his bike after hitting a pothole when cycling home from a friend’s house. Tony Webber suffered serious facial damage in the accident and has criticised the state of the county’s roads. He had been cycling home from his friend’s house in Grange Road last Tuesday when the accident happened on Sloughton Road, near Stoke New Cemetery. He had not been wearing a helmet at the time of the crash, but doctors said that the force of the impact could have caused the chinstrap to break his jaw.

Mr Webber suffered a myriad of personal injuries. After awaking in hospital, it was found that the front wheel of Mr Webber’s bike had gone into the pothole, flipping him off the bike face first onto the concrete road. His nose was shattered and split open, and his eye socket fractured. Both his nose and eye have required stitches. The impact of the fall forced his teeth through his lips, which required further stitching, and his arms and legs were severely grazed. Luckily, just after the accident occurred, a GP happened to pass him on the road and immediately took him to hospital. 

“They didn’t sound bothered at all.”

Mr Webber, who works at the University of Surrey in a hospitality role, complained about how he was treated by staff from the Surrey County Council (SCC) when he phoned to explain the accident. He said: “They didn’t sound bothered at all. I know it was just a council worker at the end of the phone, but I could’ve been killed. It’s dangerous out there for cyclists.”

According to the cycling charity CTC-run fillthathole.org.uk – where cyclists voice concerns – the crash area had first been reported in April 2010, and still nothing has been done. It was found that in the last seven years, a total of eight accidents have been recorded on that road. An SCC spokesman said that they could not comment until the Surrey Police had produced a report.

If you have suffered an injury on the road, and are looking to claim compensation, please contact us.  

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