Seeking witness to accident

[san]

Morning everyone.

Not been on for a while, and not too chuffed about the circumstance I am on here today.
I had a rather bad crach on Monday night ( 13th December 2010 around 16h45 - 17h00) on the corner of Clapham High Street and Aristotle road.
A chap in a small van turned between the traffic coming towards the city and at about 30kph
I skid then crashed head first into his front fender.
He stopped and seemed a nice enough chap. At the time I seemed fine, and was surprised, like most of those
who stopped, that I was OK.
It was only when I got home, (On the bike which didn't have a scratch) did I notice how my helmet had saved my live.
It's brocken in 6 places. Replaced already for obvious reasons.

What I am after is...
A very helpful female cyclist stopped and helped with my bike and made sure I was ok, but I (Stupidly) didn't get her details
as she said she had seen the whole thing.

Reasons for chasing this is firstly I'd like to thank her.
Secondly, I'm starting to realise how injured I am. Not sure if this is normal, but I am only feeling the pain 2 days after the accident.
Pains are popping up in my head and my ribs and neck are sore. I'm of course getting them checked out today, but should something come of this, I was hoping to get in touch with her instead of going just by the number plate I got of the van.
You will now gather that i also didn't get the drivers name. A bit stupid, but I was in a bit of shock.

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

FYI, Giro Monza was what i was wearing, and I swear by it now. Thanks to Giro. (And cyclechat too of course)

All the best
Stuart

 

[tjsc1]

No help to you thought......I had a crash in my car a few years ago, quite a bad one, traffic lights stuck on green and 'we' met in the middle of the junction. My car was a right off. My inuries did not show until a few days after. More or less the same, bit of whiplash, arms and back etc. Didnt go the doctors and the injuries lasted a few more days, then settled back down. Hope your feeling a little better now. Things for and again helmets but in your case proved its worth. Good luck
Terry

 

[Origamist]

I take it you've been to your GP, informed the police and have the van driver's reg details? Taken pics of any injuries? Are you a member of CTC or LCC etc - get legal advice asap.

The full extent of injuries can often take days or weeks to surface.

If you want to track the witness down, I'd wait at those lights near Aristotle road at about the same time as the incident took place - fellow commuters are often creatures of habit and you might be able to identify her. If she's distinctive or rides as unusual machine you might want to give a description here or on other fora.

Finally, Aristotle Rd is a busy side road near Clapham North tube and I've nearly been swiped there before. Hope you feel better soon.

 

[Headgardener]

+1 to Origamist's post. Especialy about contacting the police. Try and make sure that you speak to the traffic division as they may be more interested than your average desk sergent.

 

[BicycleLegal]

Without wishing to labour the point, it is important to contact the police. If you decide to make a claim and the driver turns out to be uninsured or untraced, the Motor Insurers' Bureau (which covers these claims) will normally require you to have done this within 14 days of the accident where there is an injury involved, so I would suggest you report it as soon as possible.