Family of runner hit by car at Stretham village want road changes
The family of a businessman said they wanted changes made to the section of road where he was fatally hit by a car while running.Stephen Chamberlain, 52, died in hospital three days after a collision involving a Vauxhall car on the A1123 at Stretham in Cambridgeshire on 17 August 2024.The driver told an inquest that she was traveling at the 60mph (97km/h) speed limit and, as she "proceeded down the incline" of a road bridge, a man "suddenly emerged into the road".His wife Karen Chamberlain said "something has got to change" to prevent a fatality from happening again.
Mr Chamberlain was an associate of the tech billionaire Mike Lynch, who also died after his superyacht the Bayesian sank off the coast of Sicily on 19 August.The runner was crossing the A1123 at a point where a public footpath intersects the road.Mrs Chamberlain told the BBC she had visited the road several times since his death.On most of these visits, she reported seeing cars overtaking or drivers rapidly accelerating when they saw the 60mph sign. Mrs Chamberlain said her husband had been "safety conscious" and would wear one earbud while running, but leave the other ear free."The speed limit should never be 60mph, never," she said."Something has got to change... I don't want it happening again and it felt very much like the coroner was supporting those calls."
Recalling the moment she was told about the accident, she said: "[I remember] two policemen walking up my drive and the worst feeling ever."I hope no-one ever has to go through that."At an inquest on Tuesday, area coroner Caroline Jones concluded that Mr Chamberlain died as the result of a road traffic collision.She shared concerns that the humpback bridge was an "irredeemable barrier" to visibility for pedestrians and other road users.She said she would write to Cambridgeshire County Council as the highways authority for further information before deciding whether a report to help prevent future deaths was necessary.
'Inherently dangerous'
Mr Chamberlain's father, Grenville Chamberlain, backed the plea to assess the section of road: "We need to sort it out and tomorrow, it's not soon enough."I think the transport department needs to look very critically at what is going on there. It is inherently dangerous."There's something like 50 or 60m at the most from the summit of the hill to the crossing point."If you're travelling at 60mph, you haven't got the slightest chance of stopping if there is something or someone in that road." He called for the speed limit to be reduced and vegetation at the site to be cut back.At the inquest, police forensic collision investigator PC Ian Masters said it was "not an ideal crossing point by any stretch of the imagination".When asked by the coroner if he thought a collision was unavoidable, Mr Masters replied: "Yes, that's correct."
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