Vic: Culvert contributed to cyclists death: coroner

AAP General News (Australia)
04-10-2008
Vic: Culvert contributed to cyclists death: coroner

MELBOURNE, April 10 AAP - A ditch on a Melbourne bike path was a "hidden trap" that
directly contributed to the death of a cyclist, a coroner has found.

Robert Graham, 55, broke his neck and subsequently died after hitting a culvert and
being flung over the handlebars of his bicycle on a popular bike track in Melbourne's
north on February 27, 2007.

The impact severed his spinal chord and paralysed him from the neck down.

He died on March 2 last year after agreeing to have his life support at the Austin
Hospital switched off.

Coroner Dyson Hore-Lacy today found that the culvert was a "classic, hidden trap" and
that the local Nillumbik Shire Council had a duty of care to maintain the bike path.

The culvert "caused Mr Graham's fall and contributed to his death," Mr Hore-Lacy said
in his finding.

Mr Hore-Lacy delivered two key recommendations in his finding.

He called on the Victorian government to consider providing extra funding to local
councils to allow them to maintain and develop safe shared pathways.

He also recommended the government undertake a review of Australian standards and guidelines
relevant to Victoria for shared pathways.

AAP md/gfr/it/cdh

KEYWORD: GRAHAM

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