Charlie Alliston case - fixie rider accused of causing pedestrian death

[RoubaixCube]

I see some nitpicking to find an excuse for charges....

No front brake? How about his rear brake? If his front brake wasnt working but his rear brake was then thats not something that can be taken into account as cause of death other than for the cyclists own safety. Was his rear brake working? If not then why wasnt that mentioned either? Was there a 3rd party involved that immediately inspected the bike after the collision and claimed the front brake wasnt operational?

Though at a pedestrian crossing... He should have stopped.

Hes guilty of being a nob.

 

[glasgowcyclist]

I see some nitpicking to find an excuse for charges....

No front brake? How about his rear brake? If his front brake wasnt working but his rear brake was then thats not something that can be taken into account as cause of death other than for the cyclists own safety. Was his rear brake working? If not then why wasnt that mentioned either? Was there a 3rd party involved that immediately inspected the bike after the collision and claimed the front brake wasnt operational?

Though at a pedestrian crossing... He should have stopped.

Hes guilty of being a nob.

The suggestion is that the bike lacked a front brake, not that it wasn't working. Perhaps it was a fixie and he didn't bother making it road legal. We'll have to wait for more details from the trial.

 

[RoubaixCube]

The suggestion is that the bike lacked a front brake, not that it wasn't working. Perhaps it was a fixie and he didn't bother making it road legal. We'll have to wait for more details from the trial.

Ahh good point, I guess I misunderstood the context.

 

[glasgowcyclist]

Ahh good point, I guess I misunderstood the context.

From road.cc:

"[The prosecutor] ...alleged that the bike lacked a front brake, and that at trial the prosecution would address issues including “the condition of the bike and its roadworthiness” and “whether it should have had a brake fitted to the front wheel.”

Alliston’s counsel said however that the defence would seek to establish that a front brake “wouldn’t have heeded his ability to stop any quicker as he was a competent rider.”​

Er, good luck with that one.

 

[Drago]

Clearly he wasn't a competent rider or he wouldn't have killed someone.

 

[jefmcg]

From road.cc:

Also contains the answer to the original query raised by this thread

'Paul Jarvis, prosecuting, told yesterday’s hearing: “There is no homicide charge which relates to riding a bike,” reports the Hackney Gazette'

 

[PK99]

the bike (type) in the case

From the planet x website (my emphasis)

The Pro Carbon Track bike is a speed weapon. Constructed from high quality Toray T700 carbon fibre, its lightweight frame is amazingly rigid and efficient. Ideal for hammering around the velodrome at full gas, the Pro Carbon Track is ridden to victory by countless club and elite racers!

And part of Guardian report:

A “dangerous” cyclist knocked down and killed a pedestrian on a busy London street and then blamed his victim, saying people have “zero respect”, a court heard.

Charlie Alliston, then aged 18, was said to be going nearly 20mph when he mowed down Kim Briggs as she crossed Old Street, east London, on 12 February last year.

The 44-year-old mother of two was on her lunch break when the crash happened.

Alliston was riding a “fixie”, a fixed-gear track bicycle with no front break, which is not legal on the road without modification.

He allegedly shouted at Briggs to “get out of the way” twice before their heads smashed together. Briggs suffered brain injuries including two skull fractures and died a week later.

After seeing a newspaper report about the incident, Alliston posted a comment online claiming he tried to warn her but she “ignored me” and “stopped dead” in his path.

He wrote: “I feel bad due to the seriousness of her injuries but I can put my hand up and say this is not my fault.”

On an internet forum he described how their heads collided and hers “ricocheted” into his. He wrote: “It is a pretty serious incident so I won’t bother saying she deserved it. It was her fault but she did not deserve it.”

 

[jefmcg]

Wow. I know the Telegraph is a definite "lycra lout" paper, but he is looking really bad.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/201...strian-high-speed-crash-said-people-had-zero/

This is apparently him online after the accident but before she died. He was eighteen, so of course he is an idiot, but it's way more than that. I'm unsurprised he's been charged with manslaughter.

He wrote: "I feel bad due to the seriousness of her injuries but I can put my hand up and say this is not my fault."
On an internet forum he described how their heads collided and hers "ricocheted" into his.
He wrote: "It is a pretty serious incident so I won't bother saying she deserved it. It was her fault but she did not deserve it."
He went on to claim Mrs Briggs had been on her mobile phone at the time of the accident.
He complained: "Everyone is quick to judge and help the so-called victim but not the other person in the situation.
"It all happened so fast and even at a slow speed there was nothing I could do. I just wish people would stop making judgments.
"People either think they are invincible or have zero respect for cyclists."

 

[PK99]

The suggestion is that the bike lacked a front brake, not that it wasn't working. Perhaps it was a fixie and he didn't bother making it road legal. We'll have to wait for more details from the trial.

that has been confirmed the trial.

Up thread, all the posts making excuses for the cyclist and making random speculations on the cause of death make depressing reading.

 

[TVC]

Daily mail clickbait, please copy and paste so we don't give them traffic.

 

[Y2k1]

That poor family. I dont care if its a cyclist or a driver. If you kill someone on the road accident or not, you should get a minimum of 10 years. But obviously its drivers that are the killers.

The guy will probably get parole after 2 and a half years such a joke is our legal system.

 

[CanucksTraveller]

Covered here:

https://www.cyclechat.net/threads/an-unusual-case.207295/

 

[Drago]

View attachment 368050

the bike (type) in the case

From the planet x website (my emphasis)

The Pro Carbon Track bike is a speed weapon. Constructed from high quality Toray T700 carbon fibre, its lightweight frame is amazingly rigid and efficient. Ideal for hammering around the velodrome at full gas, the Pro Carbon Track is ridden to victory by countless club and elite racers!

And part of Guardian report:

A “dangerous” cyclist knocked down and killed a pedestrian on a busy London street and then blamed his victim, saying people have “zero respect”, a court heard.

Charlie Alliston, then aged 18, was said to be going nearly 20mph when he mowed down Kim Briggs as she crossed Old Street, east London, on 12 February last year.

The 44-year-old mother of two was on her lunch break when the crash happened.

Alliston was riding a “fixie”, a fixed-gear track bicycle with no front break, which is not legal on the road without modification.

He allegedly shouted at Briggs to “get out of the way” twice before their heads smashed together. Briggs suffered brain injuries including two skull fractures and died a week later.

After seeing a newspaper report about the incident, Alliston posted a comment online claiming he tried to warn her but she “ignored me” and “stopped dead” in his path.

He wrote: “I feel bad due to the seriousness of her injuries but I can put my hand up and say this is not my fault.”

On an internet forum he described how their heads collided and hers “ricocheted” into his. He wrote: “It is a pretty serious incident so I won’t bother saying she deserved it. It was her fault but she did not deserve it.”

Well, I think his words have just kneecapped any mitigation his solicitor might invent.

 

[stiffknees]

The arrogance and refusal to take responsibility of the pillock on that bike has just made cycling a lot more enemies.

 

[User6179]

Though at a pedestrian crossing... He should have stopped.

I think but not sure that it was a Pelican crossing going by the pictures in the papers so the cyclist maybe had a green light and the victim maybe walked out into the road, it seems going by what is being reported that the lack of front brake meant the cyclist could not stop in time.

I have no idea how good/bad the braking is on a fixie and whether it would be able to brake quicker with a front brake, maybe someone could comment?