Man appeals for witnesses to 2014 bike accident

A man who suffered a traumatic bicycle accident in 2014 is reaching out to potential witnesses who may hold crucial information regarding the accident. 

Peter Duffy was involved in an accident that occurred on Monday, September 8th, 2014, at approximately 9:16 pm at the junction of Crumlin Road and Rafters Road in Dublin.

The weather, road conditions, and visibility were excellent at the time, and according to Duffy it was “Indian summer type weather at the time, with blue skies in the evening,” which meant that visibility and conditions were good on that particular evening.

Duffy, who was riding a pedal-assisted e-bike, recounted the events leading up to the collision.

Duffy, coming from the city direction, was making a right turn onto Rafters Road when he was struck by a car travelling in the opposite direction at approximately 40 miles per hour (per the incident log sheet of Dublin fire brigade).

Duffy was knocked unconscious as a result of the accident, and the impact resulted in severe injuries, including a broken ankle, deep foot incision, head injuries, and vertigo.

As a result, Duffy says he is “extremely lucky to be alive, and not paralysed or brain damaged.”

Duffy says he wakes up every night with pain in his shoulders, which he says has severely affected his sleep, which in turn affects his quality of life.

“I have been badly traumatised physically and mentally by the accident, and especially by what happened afterwards,” he said.

Despite the seriousness of the accident, Duffy has criticised what he calls a “lack of transparency” in the investigation.

The driver’s statement mentions “stationary traffic” on the opposite side of the road, which implies potential witnesses to the incident, but efforts to contact individuals who reportedly called an ambulance and were at the scene have been unsuccessful.

In the driver’s statement, it was recorded that a nurse called the ambulance, and dispatches from the ambulance centre on the night of the accident show 3 people rang in less than a minute, but Duffy has not been able to contact these people.

During civil proceedings, the guard said contact details of people at the scene were taken – but details were not disclosed to Duffy and has been unable to obtain them after the fact.

Duffy has established an email address, [email protected] and is asking people with any information about the accident to come forward.

He said the plea extends to anyone who may have witnessed the accident or has information that could contribute to a better understanding of the events surrounding the accident.

He hopes that members of the public come forward with crucial information to bring closure to this long-standing ordeal.