Pensioner had no warning before deadly bike crash, court told

The incident took place near Iffley Lock, in Oxford

An 81-year-old woman who died days after being hit by a cyclist had no warning that the bicycle was heading towards her, a jury has been told.

Edward Bressan is accused of "causing bodily harm by wanton or furious driving".

Polly Friedhoff died in hospital 12 days after she was hit on the River Thames towpath in Oxford in November 2022.

Bressan, 56, of Newton Road, Oxford, has pleaded not guilty.

The prosecution said the cyclist was "reckless" and told the jury "the case concerns the nature of Mr Bressan's driving of his bicycle".

The court heard Ms Friedhoff had been hit during a lunchtime walk as she and a friend made their way along a towpath near Iffley Lock.

Ms Friedhoff was "propelled" by the force of the bike according to her friend Ewa Huggins - who had joined her on their routine stroll.

'Catapulted'

Ms Huggins insisted the situation happened suddenly, without warning and Ms Friedhoff was hit from behind.

She said they were about a foot apart and her friend landed "at an angle with incredible force - actually, I can still hear how her scalp hit."

"I did not see him hit Polly. I only saw the aftermath when she was catapulted with incredible force.

"I did not hear anything. I did not hear a bell. Quite often cyclists shout when they see pedestrians and are coming from the left or right. I did not hear a bell."

Ms Huggins told the court that she thought her friend of 40 years was dead.

"She was lying uncomfortably. I was telling her to squeeze my hand. There was no response. There was a lot of blood coming out of her mouth. She was badly hurt".

Kuljeet Dobe, defending, suggested that Bressan was cycling behind the women and travelling at a pace that was "little more than walking speed".

Mr Dobe added: "I'm going to suggest that he did ring his bell and you moved a bit further to the right hand side, you said something to Polly and she moved suddenly but moved to the left suddenly and that was when his bike made contact with her and that is when she fell."

Mr Dobe also suggested that Ms Friedhoff did not fall across the towpath but fell more or less where the contact was made.

Ms Huggins replied: "I saw her being propelled and she didn't go across, she went at an angle. She was at an angle. It was more than just a knock."

The trial at Oxford Crown Court continues on Tuesday.