Owner of uninhabited Scottish island made famous by BBC reality show Castaway urges ‘middle-aged man in Lycra’ to turn himself in after hit-and-run cyclist nearly killed him
- Adam Kelliher, 61, was hit by a cyclist in Richmond Park, southwest London
- The cyclist fled the scene but he has urged him to turn himself in to authorities
A man who owns an uninhabited island in Scotland has appealed for the cyclist who nearly killed him in a hit-and-run to turn himself in.
Adam Kelliher, 61, was knocked over and became unconscious after he was hit by another ‘middle-aged man in Lycra’ in Richmond Park, southwest London.
Paramedics said Mr Kelliher’s helmet saved his life.
Mr Kelliher, from Wimbledon, works as an entrepreneur in life sciences as owns the island of Taransay, the largest in the UK which does not have a permanent population. The BBC reality show Castaway was filmed on the island.
Mr Kelliher, a father-of-four, was reportedly coming home from a 30-mile cycle on bank holiday Monday when a cyclist who went over the wrong way on the three metre-wide path hit him.
Adam Kelliher (pictured with wife Cathra), 61, was knocked over and became unconscious after he was hit by another ‘middle-aged man in Lycra’ in Richmond Park, southwest London.
Mr Kelliher, from Wimbledon, works as a entrepreneur in life sciences as owns the island of Taransay (pictured), the largest in the UK which does not have a permanent population. The BBC reality show Castaway was filmed on the island
He said the person who hit was a ‘normal Mamil’ – a middle-aged man in Lycra, the Times reports.
He said the man was concentrating on his timing and speed before he hit him head on – and he says he can only recall ‘glimpses’ of the crash.
He said the crash knocked him off his bike and onto his back, causing his helmet to ‘smash like an egg’.
Mr Kelliher was cycling with his neighbour Philip Weston, 57, who helped him along with people who saw the result of the crash including two doctors and a firefighter.
He said that by the time Mr Weston looked up the other cyclist had fled which Mr Kelliher says was ‘particularly disappointing’.
After the crash, Mr Kelliher’s injuries included a cracked rib and cuts over his hands, but paramedics told him he might have been taken from the scene in a helicopter or a hearse were it not for his helmet.
The other cyclist involved in the crash was around 40 or 50-years-old and was wearing black-and-white cycling gear.
Mr Kelliher’s wife Cathra, 55, told The Times that if cycling is to be promoted then riders ‘have got to be responsible’ adding that the danger is from a few irresponsible people who need to be aware of consequences.
She sad the person who hit her husband should be ‘named and shamed’ as next time they could hit a five-year-old child who may not survive the crash.
Kelliher used to work as a foreign correspondent for The Times newspaper and then became cameraman for the BBC.
He was shot in Croatia in 1995 during an ambush which killed BBC reporter John Schofield.
Complaints about speeding cyclists in Richmond Park have previously been made and The Royal Parks, the charity which runs it and other London sites, have tried to set a speed limit for riders between 5mph and 20mph.
However the restrictions have not proved enforceable – and plans to introduce 10mph speed limits have upset cyclists who say it would be difficult to stay that slow when going down a hill.
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