THE family of a cyclist who died after a collision near Henley last year is concerned about the police investigation.
Businessman Dr Saliya Jayaratne, 45, of Phyllis Court Drive in Henley, died after being struck by a van on the A4130 between Lower Assendon and Bix on June 13.
An inquest at Oxford’s Coroner’s Court yesterday (7) heard that Colin Atkinson, 58, was momentarily “blinded” by the sun causing the collision at about 45mph.
READ MORE: Cyclist died in collision after van driver was 'blinded by bright sunlight'
The cyclist’s father spoke out at the inquest addressing his concerns about the activities of the driver and the police investigation.
He said: “Drivers are expected to adhere to the conditions of the road. Why didn’t he move to lane two?”
Despite failing an impairment test on the day, criminal charges were dropped against Mr Atkinson who told police he couldn’t see Mr Jayaratne due to the “bright, bright sunlight”.
Police concluded that witnesses and experts had corroborated Mr Atkinson’s account that the sun was like “someone putting a flashlight in the windscreen”.
Assistant coroner Nicholas Graham concluded: “It was clear to me that the van had hit the cyclist but I’m not here to determine if there was criminal negligence.
“You’re concerned that the driver had been criminally negligent and was driving too fast. You say he should have pulled into the other lane, braked or was unfit to drive.
READ MORE: Cyclist died after crash with van near Henley
“I will simply note that my understanding was that the road in question was a national speed limit road and that for the van would be 60mph and the driver did fail a test at the scene but further tests showed no drugs or alcohol in his system.”
-
Read more from this author
This story was written by Gee Harland, she joined the team in 2022 as a senior multimedia reporter.
Gee covers Wallingford and Didcot.
Get in touch with her by emailing: Gee.harland@newsquest.co.uk
Follow her on Twitter @Geeharland
A message from our Editor
Thank you for reading this story and supporting the Oxford Mail.
If you like what we do please consider getting a subscription for the Oxford Mail and in return we’ll give you unrestricted access with less adverts across our website from the latest news, investigations, features, and sport.
Follow us on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and Tik Tok for more.
You can also join the conversation in our Facebook groups: stay ahead of traffic alerts here, keep up to date with the latest from court here, share your favourite memories of Oxford here, get your daily dose of celebrity news here and take some time out with news that will make you smile.
If you’ve got a story for our reporters, send us your news here. You can also list an event for free here.
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules here