Someone will get the sack!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Such a shame, this lady was a mother of 5 kids, who have no mum coming home.. :(
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Mother of five dies in Great Bike Ride crash
BIKE riders wept and hugged each other last night as they lit candles in a moving
memorial service for a mother of five who was killed yesterday on her "special holiday of the year", the Great Victorian Bike Ride.
Thousands of participants attended the late night vigil to honour Deborah Gray, who was killed instantly when her bike collided head on with a four-wheel-drive about 10 kilometres east of Gunbower on the Murray Valley Highway.
Ms Gray, from Mount Moriac, was participating in day three of the annual event, riding the 82-kilometre stretch between Cohuna and
Echuca, when she was killed, at 10.15am.
Police said the driver of the four-wheel-drive and his wife were "devastated" by what appeared to have been a freak accident. It appears Ms Gray was riding along the two-lane road when a strong gust of wind blew her into the path of the four-wheel-drive travelling in the other direction.
David Ratten, senior minister from the Blackburn Community Church of Christ, who helped conduct the service for Ms Gray, said he and his daughters, aged 14 and 12, had witnessed the accident.
"I was about 20 metres behind. It happened in an instant and it was hard to describe," he said. "I saw the woman fall tragically on the wrong side of the road."
He encouraged riders to share their grief and to help each other through it. "She's someone you've joked with as you put up your tent and you've enjoyed the company of as you've ridden down the road and you've shared a joke with as you've shared a meal together around the table. She's one of us," he said.
Speaking of Ms Gray's family and the grief they would suffer, Mr Ratten urged mourners to remember the driver of the four-wheel-drive and his wife, who had been thrust into the tragedy.
Neil Povey, minister from the Burwood Heights Uniting Church, conducted a candle-lighting ceremony to symbolise the celebration of a life that had been cut short.
Fifty-three candles for every year of Ms Gray's life were lit, many by those who were present when the crash happened.
Earlier, Bicycle Victoria general manager Harry Barber fought back tears as he spoke of the "huge loss to Victoria's cycling family". "It's an absolute tragedy that really brings home how fragile human life really is," he said.
The accident, which was witnessed by many other riders, had left the event's participants "incredibly distressed", he said.
"It's a cliche, but it's a big family on this ride. People come every year to catch up with friends who have the same interests as them and this woman had been a regular participant on Bicycle Victoria rides for several years," Mr Barber said.
"Lots of people would have known her and would have ridden with her and even those who didn't know her would be feeling the loss."
Mr Barber said some of the riders had been too upset to continue the event "so we organised coaches to come and pick them up and take them to the
campsite to receive counselling".
One participant in the ride, Neil Clelland, said he had passed the crash scene about 45 minutes after Ms Gray was killed.
"Several police in cars and on bikes had passed us with a purpose so we assumed that something was wrong up ahead," he said. "When we eventually got there we saw (Ms Gray's) body lying on the road covered with a sheet. It was quite a shock to a lot of people as we all got off our bikes and walked through the scene in single file," he said.
Rider Barry Alexander described the accident as a "terrible, terrible tragedy that has affected all of us". "You go on what is described as a family bike ride … and you come along to have a good time," he said. "No one expects that anything like this is going to happen."
Another cyclist, Vicki Blood, said: "This woman would have said goodbye to her husband and her loved ones and told them she'd be back in 10 days. Sadly for them, that's never going to happen now."
Ms Gray's neighbours last night spoke fondly of the mother of five, who was also a grandmother. Neighbour Helen Cunningham said Ms Gray was a "true lady" in her concern for disabled children: "She had a disabled daughter herself and was a lovely lady, with a lovely family."