A family involved in the horrific bicycle accident at the Commonwealth Games says their two young children could have been “seriously hurt or killed” had a disaster occurred.
On Sunday, during the final lap of a qualifying heat for the men’s scratch race, a high-speed incident involving multiple riders propelled England’s Matt Walls over the barriers and into the crowd on his bike.
Sir Chris Hoy and Dame Laura Kenny have called for improvements to velodrome safety, with Hoy describing the absence of protective screens at facilities as a “disgrace.”
Hugh Colvin, his two younger children, ages five and seven, and other family members were seated in the front two rows of the stands as walls began to fall.
Mr. Colvin told, “Everything transpired quickly due to the bicycles’ velocity.”
“You can see the trajectory of the bike, how it grazed my daughter’s shoulder, and in one of the photographs, you can see that we were beneath the wheel.
“I was facing the opposite direction because I had turned my head, but judging by the photographs, it must have been within centimeters, millimeters, of our heads and close enough for my daughter to be grazed.”
He stated that the location where Walls’ bike landed was in the two chairs where his five-year-old son and his friend’s five-year-old son had been sitting before they moved to a better viewing position.
Laura, Hugh’s wife, who was not present at the velodrome, has realized in recent days how much worse it could have been.
It’s been difficult for us to comprehend how close this situation came to becoming a complete disaster after viewing the images,” she said.
“And how close our two younger children came to suffering grave injuries or death. And this has been the primary topic of our consideration during the past few days.”
Contrary to an early declaration from the event organizers that no members of the public required hospital treatment, a friend of the Colvins who attended the event and sustained a severe arm injury is awaiting surgery.
Mrs. Colvin stated, “He sustained a bone laceration that the hospital described as similar to a machete cut.”
“It has been quite challenging for him; he is currently awaiting surgery. In addition to soft tissue and muscle damage, he has a tendon that is partially cut in his arm, so he faces a long road to recovery.”
They reported that the three children were quite concerned about the status of the three cyclists who were taken to the hospital following the accident: Walls, Matt Bostock of the Isle of Man, and Derek Gee of Canada.
Monday, Walls video-called the Colvins’ daughter, which they described as a “huge step forward” in assisting her to cope with what she had witnessed.
The Colvins commended the prompt assistance they received from volunteers, paramedics, and team coaches in the aftermath of the accident.
However, the family wishes for the incident to prompt a review of velodrome safety to ensure that “no family would ever find itself in our predicament.”
They claimed to be “totally uninformed” that a biker had previously flown off the track.
Mrs. Colvin stated that her family would not have been present if they had realized there was a possibility that a bike driven by an adult male traveling at that pace may have collided with her daughter, aged seven.
Bostock, who still hopes to compete in the road race on Sunday, told: “Something must be done because it will be recorded as a fluke accident, but it has occurred before.
“I have no idea how many strange accidents become commonplace. I shudder at the thought of it being worse. It should be a proactive choice to attempt to make it safer before a catastrophic tragedy occurs.”
Birmingham 2022 has been in regular touch with the Colvin family, according to a representative who apologized for any distress their earlier remark may have caused.
They stated, “A thorough accident investigation is currently underway, and we will share our findings with the appropriate parties.”
Chief Executive Officer of Lee Valley Regional Park Authority, Shaun Dawson, stated that the venue complies with international regulations and that an incident of this nature has never occurred there before.
He said, “We recognize that this was a devastating experience for everyone concerned, and we extend our deepest condolences.”
