Ben Walsh - in red and blue - crashed at the National Championships and required medical treatment. A police officer on a motorbike was also treated for crash injuries (Photo: Sean Rowe)
A crash between a police officer on a motorbike and talented young Irish rider Ben Walsh is under investigation.
The PSNI is carrying out its own inquiry and the incident
has also been sent to the Police Ombudsman.
However, the PSNI referring the matter to the ombudsman
is standard practice.
The PSNI is obliged under law to notify the ombudsman of
any serious incidents involving its officers while on duty.
That is particularly the case when any injuries, or a fatality, occurs.
Events that may later be deemed a no-blame accident must be referred to the Police Ombudsman so the independent watchdog can review it.
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On Sunday the men’s elite road race was halted when Ben
Walsh and the police motorbike rider were involved in a crash.
After the emergency services swung into action and
completed their work the race was restarted. Sam Bennett (Bora-hansgrohe) ran
out the winner.
The crash occurred on Foyle Bridge at about 11.35am. And
the PSNI has since released details and launched an appeal for witnesses.
“The Northern Ireland Ambulance Service attended
alongside police and both the male police motorcyclist and the male cyclist
were treated at hospital for minor injuries and have both since been
discharged,” it said in a statement.
“The Foyle Bridge was closed for a time as emergency
services attended the scene, but it has since re-opened.
"(The PSNI) want to appeal to anyone who witnessed
the collision, or captured it on their dash cam, to contact police on 101, quoting
reference number 857 of 30/06/19."
Walsh has since been discharged from hospital and while
he suffered a number of soft tissue injures, including to his face, no broken
bones were diagnosed.
We wish him and the police officer well with their recoveries.
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