Coroner warns of dangers of cycling e-bikes after drinking alcohol following fatal Dublin crash

A coroner has warned of the dangers of riding an e-bike after consuming alcohol after a cyclist was killed when his powered pedal cycle crashed into a lamp-post in Dublin two years ago.

Coroner Clare Keane said the public needed to be aware of the risk of driving any mechanically propelled vehicle after drinking alcohol following the cyclist’s death.

Robert Forbes (45) suffered fatal injuries after his e-bike struck a pole on Sallymount Avenue in Ranelagh on November 1st, 2021.

A sitting of Dublin District Coroner’s Court on Thursday heard the single-vehicle collision occurred at about 8.30pm as Mr Forbes was returning to his home at Anna Villa, Ranelagh, after enjoying a few pints in a pub on Baggot Street with his housemate.

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He was taken by ambulance to St Vincent’s University Hospital but was pronounced dead shortly after 10pm.

Postmortem results showed Mr Forbes had suffered traumatic injuries including multiple fractures and massive internal bleeding.

Dr Keane said the cyclist had died from hypovolemic shock as a result of his injuries which were consistent with his e-bike having struck a lamp-post.

The coroner said a toxicology report showed the deceased also had “a quite significant amount” of alcohol in his body at the time of the incident which she regarded as a contributory factor in his death.

Mr Forbes’s housemate Stephen Surdival said his friend was a “very skilled and co-ordinated cyclist” who had converted a Cube mountain bike into an e-bike himself over a year before the fatal incident using a battery and other components that he had sourced from China.

“He went everywhere with the bike. He was a very skilled cyclist,” said Mr Surdival.

In response to questions from the coroner, Mr Surdival said the deceased did not appear intoxicated at the time they parted in the pub and was taking a route home that he would have cycled regularly.

In a written statement, a motorist described seeing a male cycling erratically as he turned from Leeson Street on to Appian Way just before the fatal collision.

Nick Langlois said the cyclist was veering from the kerb into the middle of the road as he came to the junction from Waterloo Road.

Mr Langlois estimated the cyclist was travelling at about 50km/h, which he remembered struck him as strange at the time because he was going so fast without appearing to be pedalling.

He said the cyclist, who had no lights on his bike and was not wearing any high-viz jacket, also went through a red traffic light when he had stopped before turning on to Sallymount Avenue.

A resident of Sallymount Avenue who witnessed the fatal crash, Karen Deenihan, said she saw the e-bike collide with the pole, which caused “a big bang,” while noting that the cyclist’s head had also struck the lamp-post. Ms Deenihan later found the cyclist’s helmet in his rucksack.

A public vehicle inspector who examined the e-bike, Garda David O’Brien, said it was in serviceable condition with no issues with its tyres or brakes.

Garda O’Brien said he was unable to test ride the bike because its battery had broken off.

Dr Keane said that while there was evidence that the deceased had some coronary heart disease, there was nothing in postmortem results to indicate that he had suffered any cardiac arrest on the night.

Recording a verdict of death by misadventure, the coroner said there was a need to raise public awareness about the risks associated with speeding, breaking red lights and not wearing high-viz jackets as well as consuming alcohol when cycling such bikes.

Offering condolences to friends of Mr Forbes who were in court, Dr Keane acknowledged that details of the case were “very distressing”.