A father-of-two died after two cats fighting in the street cut across his bike and got caught in the wheels on his morning commute, causing him to fall off and hit his head….he was not wearing helmet.
Chris Reeves, 52, a Network Rail signaller from Rugby, Warwickshire, was airlifted to Walsgrave Hospital (UHCW) in Coventry with a severe brain injury.
Despite doctors performing an emergency operation to release pressure in his head, he died five days later surrounded by friends and family.
His son Dominic Reeves described the freak accident as ‘unimaginably unfair’ and said his father was a ‘big, soft friendly giant’ who ‘deserves the very best’.
Dominic, 20, has launched a fundraiser to give his father a proper send-off and said he would have wanted everyone to remember the good times and have a ‘big p***-up’.
DETAILS OF THE ACCIDENT
He said: ‘He was only about five minutes away from work – he nearly got there.
‘He must have startled [the cats] as he came round the corner and they ran out in front of him. One of them went under the front tyre and unfortunately the other went under the back tyre.
‘Somehow he’s come off his bike and sustained a really bad brain injury.’
Chris was found semi-conscious by a passer-by on Abbey Street in Rugby at around 5.30am on July 30 after falling off his bike and hitting his head.
CCTV footage from an adjacent garage later showed Chris had come off his bike after two cats that were fighting in the street cut across his path.
‘He must have startled them as he came round the corner and they ran out in front of him,’ said Dominic, who is studying video game design at Birmingham City University.
