Posted on 11/03/2008 10:53:15 AM PST by BGHater
A motorcyclist died in a million-to-one accident after an airborne pheasant crashed into his helmet causing him to lose control, an inquest has heard.
Ian Bottomley, 52, was on a 60mph road when the bird smashed into his head, causing him to swerve into an embankment and come off his bike.
David Farraday, who was first on the scene told the inquest he found Mr Bottomley lying motionless in the road.
Ian Bottomley was killed after a flying pheasant struck his crash helmet in a million-to-one accident
He said: 'There was a bike and still a lot of dust coming up, then I saw Mr Bottomley in the road. The bike was a fair distance from Mr Bottomley.'
Mr Bottomley, a metallurgist and a father-of-two from Preston, Lancashire, crashed on the A683 near Lancaster.
The inquest heard he had been travelling between 67mph and 77mph on a road with a maximum speed of 60mph but that speed was not a factor in the accident.
PC Rachel Killinger said officers soon noticed the pheasant after its body was pointed out by a member of the public.
'There were feathers around Mr Bottomley and certainly some on his helmet,' she said.
A large pheasant, which is similar in size to this, crashed into Mr Bottomley's helmet
(Excerpt) Read more at dailymail.co.uk ...
it’s like getting hit with a sack of wet cement at 60 miles per hour
it’s gonna hurt
Bumble-bee at 80 mph dead center in the chest.
Thought I’d been shot.
A biker was killed in Wyoming a couple of years ago when he hit a buzzard that was near a road killed deer. What a way to go.
Watch out for those wild peacocks around SV.
Obama wishes he could give this kinda bird to McCain instead of the one he just sent.
I took a bee in the neck at 40 mph, which hurt for a bit, and then hurt like he** when he survived the impact and stung me. :)
Wow, what a freak accident. We had a biker here locally that hit a deer at night. He didn’t survive.
Yikes! Fabio might want to make a note of this, and stay off of motorcycles (along with rollercoasters).
What a hoot.
Anyway sorry to here about the Brit, it couldn't have been a pheasant experience.
This kind of thing happens all the time.
Even a wasp flying into the sleave has caused the death of bikers.
June bug to the neck at over 70. Same reaction.
Also, got caught in the rain with just a tee shirt. Even at below the speed limit, when I got home, my arms and neck looked like I had massive sunburn. It hurt.
Very sad. Condolences to the family. My mom hit a pheasant with her car many years ago. She didn’t even notice it but my dad walked out to the car, pried the pheasant off the grill and it flew away. They are tough birds.
Sorry, I would have taken him home. Yum!
Why is it a million to one?
I hit a pheasant twice (in a car, mind you).
It was like someone threw a basketball at my windshield, while driving 70 mph. Luckily both times, it deflected and didn’t cause major damage (to us and the car anyway).
Chinese pheasant. I smell an international conspiracy.
Well, it actually rode several miles in the grill until Mom got home. Dad rescued it only when he noticed it after Mom’s arrival. Pheasant is good eating and I’m not sure why we didn’t dine on it as a gift from heaven, but perhaps it flew off before Dad could think. Dad (and mom) is still around so maybe I’ll ask him next time we talk.
A friend of mine had a turkey buzzard hit him in the face at about 55mph. This was months ago and his neck is still giving him a lot of issues.
Buzzard did not survive the encounter. After the hit, my friend’s entire face was bleeding.
He stayed on the bike and came to a safe halt.
An owl or some other night flying bird hit me one early evening south of Iowa City. I didn’t go off the bike but came very close...
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