Tributes paid to "wonderful" 26 year-old cyclist who died after collision with white VW driver on busy road in Northampton

The inquest into the death of Emanuel-Beniamin Negrușa, originally from Romania, was held at The Guildhall in Northampton on Thursday July 24.

Mr Negrușa died on June 20, 2024, after being struck by a white VW Golf while cycling on the A4500 between South View and Upton at around 5.45am. He was riding his push bicycle when the collision occurred at a traffic light-controlled pedestrian crossing near the Upton Valley Way North junction.

A post-mortem confirmed he died from traumatic head injuries.

Born on March 3, 1998, Emanuel was one of six siblings. He moved to the UK in 2018 and had been studying IT at university while working part-time.

In a tribute read out at the inquest, his brother wrote: “A wonderful, happy, optimistic person, cautious and responsible in everything he did.

“Since Emanuel has passed, we have been approached by numerous persons who knew him or had a connection to him. It can’t be enforced how well-liked and respected he was.

“He always put others first and was very careful in his daily life. Even if he was leaving home, I would see him lock his door four or five times.

“He would wait at the pedestrian crossing until the light turned green – and even then, he would wait a few seconds more to make sure cars had stopped.

“He loved technology, walks in the countryside, the seaside. His favourite place was Cornwall. We had a wonderful trip there – our last one.

“Our parents are on medication for depression. The 20th of each month is hard, and so is his birthday.

“We still go to the place where he died. We light candles and place flowers.

“Identifying his body at the morgue was incredibly traumatic. Seeing him lying there – it was devastating.

“Our lives will never be the same. We love him so much and will never forget him.”

Crash investigator PC Rice told the inquest that no faults were found with the traffic lights, and there was no possibility that both the eastbound vehicle and the pedestrian crossing could have had a green signal at the same time.

There were no eyewitnesses to the collision and no vehicle data could be recovered, as the car’s airbags did not deploy. No braking marks were found at the scene, which PC Rice said is common in modern vehicles with ABS braking systems.

Mr Negrușa’s bicycle was found 28 metres from the point of impact. His phone, which investigators believe he was likely holding at the time, was recovered 30 metres away. It was found to be playing audio via Bluetooth earbuds. There was no mount for the device on the bike. The investigation confirmed that Mr Negrușa was not wearing a helmet.

PC Rice said there were no obstructions to the driver's or cyclist's view on approach. However, environmental factors may have affected visibility. At the time of the collision, the sun was low in the sky, which could have caused glare and short-term visual impairment, he said.

Although the driver had lowered her sun visor and was wearing sunglasses, a hanging air freshener may have also partially obstructed her view of the near side crossing.

There was no evidence that the driver was using her phone at the time of the collision, the inquest heard.

In a statement, the VW driver said: “I was in complete shock. The visibility was perfectly fine and there was nothing blocking my view. I was not expecting the pedal cyclist to cross the road because he was not on the crossing and the lights were on green for me. I didn’t see the vehicle. I’m devastated by the accident and I’m so very sorry for the family.”

Coroner Anne Pember said: “He rode across a pelican crossing into the path of a VW Golf which was travelling towards Northampton and where the traffic light was showing green for the VW driver. Sadly, the man received fatal injuries and was confirmed dead at the scene.”

Ms Pember concluded the death was a result of a road traffic collision.