A bakkie carrying several people swerved and hit a tree after crashing into Hout Bay cyclist Graham Taylor in Noordhoek on Tuesday, according to other cyclists who were riding with him.
A social ride turned into a nightmare when a Hout Bay cyclist died after being hit by a bakkie in Noordhoek on Tuesday morning, according to those riding with him.
Graham Taylor was cycling with five friends from Hout Bay towards Fish Hoek Beach for coffee when the bakkie hit him on a bend near the entrance to the Lake Michelle estate in Noordhoek Main Road, said fellow cyclist Henry Steyn.
Mr Steyn said he had been riding in front of Mr Taylor and had not seen the bakkie hit him, but he had looked back when he had heard the impact.
Another of the cyclists, Ken Pollard, said the bakkie had hit Mr Taylor, then crossed the road and smashed into a tree.
Several people riding on the back of the bakkie had been strewn across the scene of the crash and looked badly injured, including a woman in the bakkie’s passenger seat who firefighters had freed with the jaws of life, said Mr Pollard.
Several motorists had stopped to help, and emergency services had been on the scene within about 12 minutes.
An ambulance had taken Mr Taylor to Vincent Pallotti hospital where he had later died of his injuries.
Mr Pollard said they were 70-plus years old and knew each other through the Hout Bay Yacht Club. He said they cycled all over Cape Town two-to-three times a week, not always together but never alone.
City Fire and Rescue Service spokesman Edward Bosch said eight people had sustained various degrees of injuries during the crash.
Pedal Power Association CEO Neil Robinson, said: “We are saddened to hear about the death of another cyclist in the Noordhoek area this week. Every death is one too many on our roads.
“One of our key focuses as the Pedal Power Association is to try and influence government policy as much as possible when it comes to safer roads and effective cycling systems. A large part of this is to work with the authorities when it comes to enforcing the 1m pass rule. Once we have the full details of the crash, we will again sit down with the authorities as part of our ongoing dialogue to try and prevent tragedies like this from happening again.”