Eastleigh man died after unavoidable accident, inquest hears

David Davenport, 59, of Archers Road, died at Southampton General Hospital - eight days after the crash involving a car driven by a doctor at the junction of Woodman Lane and Sarum Road, near Farley Mount west of Winchester.

He died of traumatic brain injuries caused by the incident on June 16, 2021.

At the conclusion of the inquest into his death on Wednesday, area coroner Rosamund Rhodes-Kemp said Mr Davenport's death had impacted his 'family, friends and the wider cycling community'.

She said: "My condolences to the family in this case. It has been very sad and difficult.”

The inquest heard that Mr Davenport was an experienced cyclist, who had been with his friend James Martin when the incident occurred at around 2.30pm.

Winchester Coroners' Court (Image: Contributed)

According to Mr Martin, the pair had been cycling two-abreast down Woodman Lane, when they saw a car at the crossroads in Sarum Road, waiting to move off.

Mr Martin said that he thought that the car driver had seen them before it pulled out suddenly.

Mr Martin said that he was cycling on the inside of the road, and he said he was able to safely get around the back of the car 'by sheer luck'.

The doctor in the car said she drove there every day as part of her work commute and had not seen the pair until it was too late.

She got out of the car and gave CPR to Mr Davenport until paramedics could arrive.

Mrs Rhodes-Kemp read a report prepared by Hampshire police investigating the collision, which had concluded: "The collisions could not reasonably have been avoided".

The report said Mr Davenport was not wearing a helmet when the incident occurred and that he and Mr Martin were not wearing high-contrast clothing during the ride.

As it was daytime, the pair were also not using lights.

It also found that the view of Woodman Lane turning right from Sarum Road was obscured by trees and signs.

The coroner read out a statement from PC Anthony Clifford which said: “I am aware that the family have found that report difficult. I am sorry for their distress.

“I do not know why Dr Robson did not see the two cyclists. If it was for lack of high contrast clothing or lack of vision.

“While the general advice is to wear a bike helmet for protection, we will never know if this would have made a difference.”