Mourners pay tribute to cyclist killed in Wilmslow Road collision

Tributes started pouring in for a cyclist killed in Fallowfield last week.

Joshua Jarvis, aged 21 and who lived in Fallowfield, was killed at the junction between Wilmslow Road and Landcross Road when his bicycle collided with a cement mixer, last Tuesday.

Emergency services were called to reports of a road traffic accident at 3.25pm on 11^th February.

Traffic was diverted as dozens of police officers attended the scene, and a large section of Wilmslow Road was cordoned-off to vehicles and pedestrians for several hours.

Within 24 hours of the fatal accident, floral tributes appeared at the roadside. One anonymous mourner left a poem.

Jennifer Rogers, studying French, witnessed the accident. Speaking to The Mancunion, Jennifer described her feelings of horror upon witnessing the harrowing scene.

“Life is short. One minute he was alive, and the next he was dead,” she said. “I’d never seen a dead body before, and I won’t forget the look in his eyes. It’s there when I close my eyes.”

Jennifer declined to talk about the incident any further due to the memory of it being too distressing.

The Mancunion also spoke to an employee of Papa Johns pizza parlour who witnessed the aftermath of the accident. He described the swift arrival of dozens of police vehicles, the cement mixer in the middle of the road, and recalled the ‘twisted metal’ of a ‘bicycle in two halves’.

Greater Manchester Police offered their condolences to Jarvis’ family. Sergeant Lee Westhead from GMP’s Serious Collision Investigation Unit, said, “Our thoughts and sympathies are with this young man’s family as they try to come to terms with their loss.”

In the aftermath of the incident, the GMP have also arranged an event designed to raise awareness of blind spots to cyclists and HGV drivers.

The event, which will take place in Albert Square on Monday 17^th February, will give members of the public the chance to sit in the driving seat of a HGV and bus, in order to see the road from a driver’s perspective.

A spokesperson for Greater Manchester Police added that throughout the day, “Police will also be tackling unhealthy winter cars by displaying for the first time a vehicle with multiple defects. People will be invited to point out how many offences the driver would commit if the vehicle was on the road and officers will be on hand to explain and outline the consequences.

“Officers will also be highlighting offences which become a problem in the winter months including ‘car-jacking’, which is the taking of a vehicle which has been left to defrost with the engine running.”

Inspector Paul Rowe from the Serious Collision Investigation Unit said, “HGVs have several blind spots where a cyclist cannot be seen at all and sadly we have attended incidents where a cyclist has literally disappeared under the wheels of a lorry.

“It is important that cyclists are aware of the difficulties lorry drivers can have seeing them. Previous events have proved to be an eye-opening experience and have helped cyclists understand how to position themselves more safely in the road.”

Police have asked anyone who witnessed the collision on Wilmslow Road last Tuesday to call the Serious Collision Investigation Unit on 0161 856 4742.