woman freezes to death after falling from bike

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mercalia
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Joined: 22 Sep 2013, 10:03pm
Location: london South

woman freezes to death after falling from bike

Post by mercalia »

Woman, 56, froze to death in cemetery after she fell off her bike and lay there for SEVENTEEN hours before her body was found, inquest hears


A good reason to have a mobile? presumably she didnt have? I think I would have tried to get to the bike and use it as a crutch to get away? A strange sad story and goodness knows why it took so long for the cops to find her and why didnt the person who found her go back to stay with her and take some blankets back since it was just above freezing.

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-8840857/Woman-56-froze-death-Hull-cemetery-falling-bike-spending-17-hours-alone.html
mumbojumbo
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Joined: 1 Aug 2018, 8:18pm

Re: woman freezes to death after falling from bike

Post by mumbojumbo »

Was it relevant to mention her drinking?
Syd
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Joined: 23 Sep 2018, 2:27pm

woman freezes to death after falling from bike

Post by Syd »

mumbojumbo wrote:Was it relevant to mention her drinking?

Why? Do you think it was not?

1. Did it contribute to her fall?
2. Alcohol widens your blood vessels, making more blood flow to your skin. The heat from that extra blood passes more readily out of your body, causing your temperature to drop.
mumbojumbo
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Joined: 1 Aug 2018, 8:18pm

Re: woman freezes to death after falling from bike

Post by mumbojumbo »

They could have mentioned her death in a more sympathetic manner.The implication is that she brought the matter on herself,which is harsh.
FerociousDog
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Joined: 28 Sep 2020, 5:56pm

Re: woman freezes to death after falling from bike

Post by FerociousDog »

mumbojumbo wrote:Was it relevant to mention her drinking?

Yes of course it was.
Had she been on a motorcycle or driving a car then the alcohol is her system would have been a major talking point!
Very strange how the Police couldn’t find her?
eileithyia
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Joined: 31 Jan 2007, 6:46pm
Location: Horwich Which is Lancs :-)

Re: woman freezes to death after falling from bike

Post by eileithyia »

It's easy with the wisdom of hindsight to wonder why police could not find, she did not use bike as a crutch, did not use her phone etc...

I would suggest possibly the alcohol had some bearing on any decisions she may have made.... cold / wet, you can quickly become hypothermic and unable to make rational decisions include alcohol.....
Why did she not use her phone, it's easy to assume we all carry mobile phones with us, but from her fiance's comments it sounds like she did not have one otherwise he would have been phoning her as well as searching her usual drinking haunts. Also he did not alert the police himself.

I am a bit surprised at the behaviour of the passer by who left the scene to not return and why did he not ring for an ambulance?

A few years ago we had a very strange day, where it began to rain but formed sheet ice on everything it hit.... a friend had been out on his bike that day, cut back through a now dead-end road / cycle route and came off breaking his leg... luckily he had his phone with him but it still took emergency services over an hour to find him..... in which time he was quickly becoming hypothermic.... he was lucky he lived that day to tell the tale..

Having said all that am a little surprised the police did not search the cemetery a little more diligently and again good reason for her finder to have returned and guided the police to the right spot.
I stand and rejoice everytime I see a woman ride by on a wheel the picture of free, untrammeled womanhood. HG Wells
hemo
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Joined: 16 Nov 2017, 5:40pm
Location: West Sussex

Re: woman freezes to death after falling from bike

Post by hemo »

How very sad that some one died from a simple fall from a push bike (whether impaired or not), someone was and should have been able to do a bit more after coming across her. As an act of kindness the person should have gone back with someone else as well to stay and aid her whilst an ambulance was called.
Carlton green
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Joined: 22 Jun 2019, 12:27pm

Re: woman freezes to death after falling from bike

Post by Carlton green »

Who really knows the subtle details of the case? To what extent did the woman have a bit of bad luck and to what extent did she bring unfortunate events down on her own shoulders? From a survival perspective having as much alcohol in her blood as she di really didn’t do her any favours, and going out cycling whilst almost certainly under the influence of alcohol wasn’t sensible. Those two bits of this sad puzzle she put into place her self. Likewise she didn’t have additional cloths with her or a mobile phone, but then I’m sometimes guilty of that too so perhaps I shouldn’t criticise but rather take note.

I really don’t think that one can blame the guy who reported things for not taking further interest. He did his bit by coming across the woman and reporting his find to the Police. Was he really to know that his call wouldn’t result in quick and effective action? Yes, if he’d returned with a mobile phone and a blanket things might well have ended better ... and he might have to live with that thought - I wouldn’t like too have that on my conscience but he did try to help.. The Police aren’t perfect and they do have a lot on their plate, quite often they have more to do than they can manage. Sometimes we expect too much of them, they might not be that effective but we also underfund them too.

Should we blame the woman’s partner for not being more active? Trouble is that the woman was a bit of a free spirit so her absence wasn’t too out of character, if he’d reported her absence to the Police then they wouldn’t have done anything much with a missing person report. He did go off to look for her but didn’t seem to know particularly where to look.

It’s an unfortunate mix of circumstances but ultimately each one of us has the primary responsibility for our own well being.
Last edited by Carlton green on 16 Oct 2020, 9:31am, edited 1 time in total.
Don’t fret, it’s OK to: ride a simple old bike; ride slowly, walk, rest and admire the view; ride off-road; ride in your raincoat; ride by yourself; ride in the dark; and ride one hundred yards or one hundred miles. Your bike and your choices to suit you.
Postboxer
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Joined: 24 Jul 2013, 5:19pm

Re: woman freezes to death after falling from bike

Post by Postboxer »

Am I the only person having real trouble understanding the events in the report? The timeline is hard to follow, when is the 17 hours timed from? When was she found? Is the witness the dog walker? If the witness who called the police had a clear view of her, was that at the time they were on the phone? In which case they couldn't have been very far away and could have seen whether she had been found, or returned to her. Seems strange there was no way of phoning for help sooner, but then I'm not sure when the police were phoned and how urgent it was at the time.
thirdcrank
Posts: 36776
Joined: 9 Jan 2007, 2:44pm

Re: woman freezes to death after falling from bike

Post by thirdcrank »

A local report here with much of the same info but what seems like a clearer timeline

https://www.hulldailymail.co.uk/news/hu ... st-4607161
alexnharvey
Posts: 1923
Joined: 10 Jan 2014, 8:39am

Re: woman freezes to death after falling from bike

Post by alexnharvey »

A much more accurate headline too

Hull woman froze to death in cemetery after falling off bike and being 'missed' by police
Jdsk
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Joined: 5 Mar 2019, 5:42pm

Re: woman freezes to death after falling from bike

Post by Jdsk »

Inquest findings:
https://www.hulldailymail.co.uk/news/hull-east-yorkshire-news/police-searched-nine-minutes-jacquie-4609507

Narrative verdict, cause of death was hypothermia and alcohol poisoning, police criticised.

Jonathan
Jdsk
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Joined: 5 Mar 2019, 5:42pm

Re: woman freezes to death after falling from bike

Post by Jdsk »

Syd wrote:
mumbojumbo wrote:Was it relevant to mention her drinking?

Why? Do you think it was not?

1. Did it contribute to her fall?
2. Alcohol widens your blood vessels, making more blood flow to your skin. The heat from that extra blood passes more readily out of your body, causing your temperature to drop.

Agreed x2.

And there's also the risk of bad decision making that follows alcohol poisoning.

Alcohol consumption is a major risk factor for hypothermia.

Jonathan
thirdcrank
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Joined: 9 Jan 2007, 2:44pm

Re: woman freezes to death after falling from bike

Post by thirdcrank »

Jdsk wrote:Inquest findings:
https://www.hulldailymail.co.uk/news/hull-east-yorkshire-news/police-searched-nine-minutes-jacquie-4609507

Narrative verdict, cause of death was hypothermia and alcohol poisoning, police criticised.

Jonathan


That's a much clearer link. A horrible death.

On a technical point about the blood/alcohol, the level reported must be as found in the post mortem. I believe a typical person's system eliminates blood alcohol at about 15 an hour. I presume that's only when they are alive, but assuming the deceased met a lingering death, her blood alcohol way probably significantly higher when she fell.

Anyway, she was a vulnerable person there to be found but remained undiscovered.
Jdsk
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Joined: 5 Mar 2019, 5:42pm

Re: woman freezes to death after falling from bike

Post by Jdsk »

thirdcrank wrote:That's a much clearer link.

I think that's the first one since the verdict was in.

And I'm pondering your suggestion that local newspapers are doing better on factual reporting...

thirdcrank wrote:On a technical point about the blood/alcohol, the level reported must be as found in the post mortem. I believe a typical person's system eliminates blood alcohol at about 15 an hour. I presume that's only when they are alive, but assuming the deceased met a lingering death, her blood alcohol way probably significantly higher when she fell.

Yes, typically about 15 mg/dl/h. Higher in women than men. But lowered in hypothermia.

Jonathan
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