Number 10 Downing Street leads tributes to government scientist killed in bike crash

Number 10 Downing Street has led tributes to a government scientist who was killed in a crash while riding her gravel bike on holiday in Italy.

Susannah Boddie, aged 27, sustained fatal head injuries in the crash which happened at around 10am on Friday as she rode down a descent above the village of Toscolano Maderno, which lies on the western shore of Lake Garda.

According to the website of the newspaper Il Giorno, the crash happened after Ms Boddie lost control of her bike on the steep and twisting via Mezzane, which links the villages of Navazzo di Gargnano and Gaino.

Emergency services were alerted to the crash by Ms Boddie’s partner, who was said to be in a state of shock, and pronounced her dead at the scene.

The couple were reported to be experienced cyclists and had spent the week riding in the Dolomites, with their trip around Lake Garda set to be their last bike ride before heading back to the UK.

Ms Boddie, from Henley-on-Thames in Oxfordshire, had worked as lead health data scientist at Number 10 Downing Street since December last year, reports the Guardian.

She had joined the civil service after graduating in pharmacology from the University of Cambridge in 2019, and also had a master’s degree in systems biology.

A spokeswoman for Number 10 Downing Street said: “Susannah was an incredible scientist, an inspiring sportswoman, a loved and admired colleague and friend to those at No 10 and many others within the civil service. Our thoughts are with her family at this difficult time.”

Ms Boddie’s family said in a statement: “Susannah lived life to the full and had achieved so much in her short life. She crammed more into her life than you would have thought possible.

“She was the loveliest, kindest person who always inspired and cared for others and was adored by all her many friends. She will leave the biggest hole in our family and that of Rob her much-loved partner.

“She was the most wonderful daughter, sister, granddaughter and friend you could ever wish for and her memory will continue to inspire us in all we do.”