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23 Mar 14
19:33
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03 Jun 07
Tragic
A cyclist has been killed in a crash with a car in Kent while on a 24-hour charity bike ride.
Christian Smith, 38, from Boughton Aulph, near Ashford, Kent, was raising money for mental health charity Mind when he died on the A2990 Old Thanet Way, near Chestfield, Whitstable.
An 18-year-old car driver was arrested on suspicion of drink driving and causing death by dangerous driving.
She has been bailed until 26 July pending further inquiries.
The crash, involving a Peugeot 206, happened at 04:00 GMT on Saturday.
Mr Smith was declared dead at the scene.
He began his "Kent Epic" 248-mile trip round Kent and Sussex on Friday.
On his JustGiving page he said he wanted to support Mind to raise awareness of the support it offered and to help end the stigma attached to people with mental health problems.
"I have had my own misfortune to suffer from a spate of poor mental health, which was unexpected and has been a real 'game changer' in how I now view the future," he said.
"It has been a tough road to get to this point, but I have been fortunate enough to have the support of my family and friends."
'Unfathomable loss'
Donations, some made after Mr Smith's death, had reached £1,300 on Sunday morning and rose to more than £11,000 by 15:00 GMT.
Mr Smith's target was £1,000.
Messages included: "I don't know what to say, we are in total shock. Christian, what you were trying to achieve shows the man you were xxx RIP," from Dan and Claire Calnan.
Scene of Chestfield fatal crash
Accident investigators were at the scene of the crash for several hours
Another message said: "What a massive, unfathomable loss. We are all struggling to make some sense of it, and there isn't any. RIP Christian."
Mr Smith's family have asked for their privacy to grieve to be respected.
Kent Police are continuing to appeal for witnesses to the crash to come forward.
Mind said it would contact Mr Smith's family to offer condolences and support.
Chief executive Paul Farmer, said: "We were shocked and saddened to hear of the tragic death of Christian Smith.
"Our thoughts go out to his family and friends at this extremely difficult time.
"Mind is grateful for the continued dedication of all our fundraisers, without whom we would not be able to support the hundreds of thousands of people affected by mental health problems across England and Wales."
Personally if the driver did fail a breath test he should not be out on bail, maybe they need the blood tests.
A cyclist has been killed in a crash with a car in Kent while on a 24-hour charity bike ride.
Christian Smith, 38, from Boughton Aulph, near Ashford, Kent, was raising money for mental health charity Mind when he died on the A2990 Old Thanet Way, near Chestfield, Whitstable.
An 18-year-old car driver was arrested on suspicion of drink driving and causing death by dangerous driving.
She has been bailed until 26 July pending further inquiries.
The crash, involving a Peugeot 206, happened at 04:00 GMT on Saturday.
Mr Smith was declared dead at the scene.
He began his "Kent Epic" 248-mile trip round Kent and Sussex on Friday.
On his JustGiving page he said he wanted to support Mind to raise awareness of the support it offered and to help end the stigma attached to people with mental health problems.
"I have had my own misfortune to suffer from a spate of poor mental health, which was unexpected and has been a real 'game changer' in how I now view the future," he said.
"It has been a tough road to get to this point, but I have been fortunate enough to have the support of my family and friends."
'Unfathomable loss'
Donations, some made after Mr Smith's death, had reached £1,300 on Sunday morning and rose to more than £11,000 by 15:00 GMT.
Mr Smith's target was £1,000.
Messages included: "I don't know what to say, we are in total shock. Christian, what you were trying to achieve shows the man you were xxx RIP," from Dan and Claire Calnan.
Scene of Chestfield fatal crash
Accident investigators were at the scene of the crash for several hours
Another message said: "What a massive, unfathomable loss. We are all struggling to make some sense of it, and there isn't any. RIP Christian."
Mr Smith's family have asked for their privacy to grieve to be respected.
Kent Police are continuing to appeal for witnesses to the crash to come forward.
Mind said it would contact Mr Smith's family to offer condolences and support.
Chief executive Paul Farmer, said: "We were shocked and saddened to hear of the tragic death of Christian Smith.
"Our thoughts go out to his family and friends at this extremely difficult time.
"Mind is grateful for the continued dedication of all our fundraisers, without whom we would not be able to support the hundreds of thousands of people affected by mental health problems across England and Wales."
Personally if the driver did fail a breath test he should not be out on bail, maybe they need the blood tests.
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Replies: 9
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shocking story
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i think i heard a story about a doctor in a transplant unit that said it won't be long now it's raining. pointing out that motorcyclists usually skid in the wet weather and end up on the transplant operating theatre. I prefer the bus for long trips. tangle with that and the cars come out badly.
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in no way excusing drink driving, but I wonder if cycling non stop for 24 hours on public roads is a wise thing to do. You need to keep your concentration when on a bike, the consequences of a collision are usually worse for the cyclist...
On another note I personally think the punishment for drink driving should be the more or less the same (i.e severe) regardless of whether you crash or kill someone or just get pulled over. Its all down to luck whether anyone gets hurt or not. |
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agree on both counts. Your first point particularly : I too see people doing ludicrously dangerous things - like riding on UK roads - to raise a few thou' for some worthy cause, and I think 'you've a realistic chance of being killed doing that - it's not worth it, please don't.
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mental
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Why do you feel it is ludicrously dangerous to cycle on UK roads?
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Sad story indeed but it seems none of the news people can get where he came from right. It's Boughton Aluph not Aulph.
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It seems it is "ludicrously dangerous" to cycle on UK roads because you might get hit by a drunken driver who is driving dangerously.
Well my friend was killed in a head on crash with a drunken driver so does that make it ludicrously dangerous to drive a car on UK roads? While we're at it is it "ludicrously dangerous" to cross the road on foot or even walk on the pavement? You do hear of cars being driven badly and ending up on the pavement and even hitting people waiting for buses. So is it "ludicrously dangerous" to wait for a bus? I would suggest it is motor vehicles being driven badly, selfishly and irresponsibly which is "ludicrously dangerous". |
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larry grayson 24 Mar 14 09:17
I would suggest it is motor vehicles being driven badly, selfishly and irresponsibly which is "ludicrously dangerous". Spot on I could not agree more. |