A Flinders man has admitted negligence over a car crash in Shellharbour last October that claimed the life of cyclist Peter Angus.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
Mr Angus was killed when the bicycle he was riding was hit by a four wheel drive on Wattle Road outside the Shellharbour Workers Club just after 7 o’clock on the morning of October 18.
In Wollongong Local Court on Wednesday, the driver of the car, David James Robert Farrell, pleaded guilty to a charge of negligent driving occasioning death.
Police documents tendered to the court said Farrell was partially blinded by intense sunlight as he came up to a small crest on the road and reduced his speed, however collided with Mr Angus when he attempted to change lanes.
“The accused knew he had collided with something as he heard the….impact over the volume of his car stereo,” police wrote in their statement to the court.
“The accused had no idea what his vehicle had collided with until he saw the rider and his bicycle in his vehicle’s rear vision mirror.”
The court heard Farrell contacted triple zero and, with the help of a passerby, began performing CPR on Mr Angus, however he could not be revived and died at the scene.
Farrell was interviewed by police at the time but wasn’t charged until March this year.
Meantime, those who knew Mr Angus described him as a “gentle giant” and a cricket club stalwart.
Friends say epilepsy prevented Mr Angus from obtaining a driver’s licence, so instead he used pedal power to get around.
“There is probably no person in the Shellharbour district who had not seen Peter with his cricket bag hooked over his back riding to training or games,” friend Sharon Jarman said at the time of Mr Angus’s death.
“They may have also seen him on his morning ride to the shops, whether it be Stockland Shellharbour or Warilla Grove to buy his morning coffee.”
Farrell will face court again on November 16 for sentencing.