Cyclist injured in crash with delivery driver seeks £50,000 compensation

A north London cyclist "sent flying" in a collision with a delivery van driver during a training ride around Alexandra Palace is seeking at least £50,000 in compensation for his injuries.

Alastair Chisholm told the Evening Standard about the ordeal, which saw him suffer two collarbone fractures when the driver pulled into his path without indicating before apologising to the rider and saying he was "really tired" and distracted by his phone.

Despite what the 47-year-old dad of three alleges, the police investigation did not lead to a prosecution due to a lack of witnesses, the driver — who worked for food importers Italicatessen and is thought to have since left the country — left before the police arrived and later claimed the cyclist had been riding recklessly.

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Mr Chisholm, a charity director, is now seeking compensation from Italicatessen for the September 2019 incident which left him needing three operations and injuries from which he has not yet fully recovered, three-and-a-half years on.

He told the London daily newspaper he "rode defensively" as he had a trip to Mallorca for warm weather cycling the following week and had a friend who was badly injured the year before.

"I was going downhill. As I went to overtake it, it sped up without any warning and just drifted across the road. It just 'closed the door' on me," he said.

"I couldn't get back round the back of it. I couldn't get round the front of it. I ended up hitting the side door. I don't know how many somersaults I did. When I tried to move my arms I realised something was wrong. It was when the ambulance arrived the pain really started to kick in and I felt like I had done several rounds with Anthony Joshua.

"Arguably, if he was really tired and was distracted, then he wasn't paying due care and attention. As a cyclist, I've had a number of experiences with 'close passes'. People driving big vehicles, they're really unaware of how close they get to you."

Nicola Hall of Osbornes Law said her client's life has been "blighted" by the collision that "was no fault of his own".

"The driver has the audacity to claim my client was at fault," she said. "While Alastair has been unable to get justice through the police, we will fight in the civil courts to ensure he gets a financial settlement to compensate him for his pain and suffering."

The managing director of Italicatessen, Marco De Sanctis opted against commenting as legal proceedings are ongoing.