London cyclist: my crash with pedestrian was like 'hitting a brick wall'

In recovery: Chris with his daughter Emilia and members of his cycling club
Chris Mattock
Chloe Chaplain13 July 2016

A cyclist has praised a team of London surgeons who fixed his badly injured leg and hip after he crashed into a pedestrian while making his way to work.

Chris Mattock, 52, a forensics expert from Hampshire, was on his daily commute from Roehampton to Lambeth on June 16 when a pedestrian stepped into the CS8 cycle path from behind a parked van.

Chris said: “The guy was on his mobile phone and walked into the road without even looking. It felt like hitting a brick wall - he was a big guy! I blacked out for a few seconds and woke up with my foot sticking out at a right-angle, shouting ‘please don’t touch me’ to people.

"I believe I knocked the guy over but when I came round he was talking to police and I think he left unscathed. When I was carried off on a stretcher he didn't say anything to me, I made a joke about him being the first person to knock me off but he ignored me."

“I ended up with life-changing injuries - a fractured hip and femur, a dislodged hip ball socket and a damaged knee and shoulder but thankfully did not damage my head. My helmet ended up with a large dent and two cracks all the way through.

“Thanks to the great skill of the surgeons at Chelsea and Westminster Hospital who cut me open, pushed and twisted the socket back together and then inserted three large screws into my hip, I am on a long road to recovery.

“The care was fantastic. When something like this happens you put all your faith in their hands – they were so professional and so good."

Chris, an experienced cyclist who has cycled across India, the west coast of America and Europe, described the accident as his “worst ever” and said it may put him off commuting in the future.

“I still love cycling, but I don’t know if I will want to commute again," he said.

"Things like this really impact you and your family and my four-year-old daughter had to see things when I was in hospital that she shouldn’t have had to see.”

He will be on crutches for three months, followed by intensive physiotherapy for another six months and it could take two years to determine whether he will need a full hip replacement.

Chris added: “As cyclists we regularly have to dodge pedestrians, they are a major hazard for cyclists. In London, it has become a big problem.

“If it had been a car or lorry, then I am sure this would have been a very different story. I would like to appeal any witnesses to please come forward to contact me on chris.mattock@googlemail.com.”

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