The family of a British father are mourning his death after he had a bizarre accident on his morning commute to work. Live broadcast from Birmingham reports that 52-year-old Chris Reeves was found semi-conscious on a street in Rugby on July 30. Reeves, a railway signalman, was flown by helicopter to a hospital in Coventry where he underwent emergency surgery to relieve pressure on his brain. Despite the best efforts of medical staff, Reeves, who was known to his friends as “Lurch,” according to LBC, died five days later surrounded by his family.
Video footage from a nearby garage later showed what had happened: As Reeves was out riding just before 5:30 a.m. local time, two cats involved in a street fight crossed his path and became entangled in the wheels of his bike, causing him to fall to the ground. “He must have frightened them when he came around the corner and they ran away from him,” says his 20-year-old son Dominic. Live broadcast from Birmingham. Dominic notes that his father was not wearing a helmet and asks others to make sure they wear theirs. “His injuries could have been less severe or he could have even been completely fine if he had been wearing a helmet,” Dominic says, calling his father a “big, gentle, kind giant” who suffered an “unimaginably unfair” accident.
Dominic adds, “So put on a damn helmet.” A GoFundMe campaign in Reeves’ name, aimed at raising money for “the send-off he deserves,” had raised nearly $8,500 as of Friday morning. “However, he fought until the end and stayed there for us as long as he could,” the fundraising page reads. “Finally, with his two boys next to him, hand on his chest and holding his hand, he was finally able to rest his eyes and start his new chapter.” The post continues, noting that Reeves “was never in pain and now looks down on all of us, always there to support us, guide us, probably crack a funny joke and give us a pat on the back.” (More freak accident stories.)
