UTTOXETER: An inquest found that a cyclist died after falling off his bicycle and hitting his head on the back of a passing Travis Perkins lorry.
The lorry driver Adrian Broadley who was working for Travis Perkins out of its Uttoxeter depot, told the inquest he was "so sorry" about what had happened but insisted he "did not touch him".
The cyclist Nick Moore died last April in Stone Road, Uttoxeter, after a collision when the flatbed lorry overtook his bike on a narrow stretch of road.
South Staffordshire Coroner Andrew Haigh said he was satisfied that Moore "was not knocked off his bicycle by the lorry" but fell from his bike and hit the lorry, fatally fracturing his skull.
The Coroner said: "I believe there were three factors for Mr Moore falling off his bicycle. One was intoxication. There was a very high level of alcohol in his blood and it is likely to have affected his judgement. Secondly, there were problems with the handlebars on his bicycle and we have heard evidence that the handlebars could have broken before the collision. Thirdly, the slip-stream of the lorry overtaking even if there was no contact may have made him lose control."
The truck driver, a former Army driver speaking to Moore's parents at the hearing said: "I have never met you before or ever met your son before that accident but I will never forget him as I know that I was the lorry driver involved in a terrible accident and unfortunately your son died."
