“I am just grateful they’re alive”: Police criticised for not attending scene after young family ‘catapulted’ off cargo bike by motorist

The mother of two children who were struck by a motorist while travelling with their father in a cargo bike, ‘catapulting’ them into oncoming traffic, has questioned why police did not attend the scene of the “shocking” collision, despite being called.

Triumph Okojie was riding an e-cargo bike with his two children, aged five and two, when they were hit by a driver at a roundabout on Ipswich Road, Colchester, on Saturday 17 December at around 6.30pm, the Daily Gazette reports.

The family, who were cycling to Tesco at the time of the incident, were thrown from the bike in the collision, hitting their heads on the road. The driver remained at the scene and no serious injuries were reported.

> Council slaps nuisance notice on family cargo bike parked on pavement 

Triumph’s wife Cristiana told the Daily Gazette that she is “grateful” that her husband and children are still alive, but that the crash has left the family “scared” and shaken.

“The whole weight of the bike fell on my husband as he was thrown off of it. They fell with their heads hitting the cement in the road,” she said.

“There are lots of light at this roundabout, so they saw the car coming directly at them. It was quite shocking.”

She continued: “The children are now scared and don’t want to go near a bike, my husband is the same. They are quite shocked.

“I was very scared when I heard what had happened. It was a very quick journey just to buy a few ingredients to finish our evening and set up our Christmas tree, but it turned out like this. I am just grateful they’re alive.”

> Parent branded an “apologist for car violence” after blaming dad and kids on cargo bike for collision with motorist outside school 

The 33-year-old also expressed her concerns regarding the decision taken by Essex Police, despite being called in the wake of the collision, to not attend the scene.

However, a spokesperson for Essex Police explained to the Daily Gazette that the incident was not attended because there were no serious injuries reported and that the road in question was clear of any obstruction.

The spokesperson added that the Okojies were advised to fill out an online report.

“I am grateful to the people from the pub who came to help and to the driver who stopped. She was visibly shaken too,” says Mrs Okojie.

"We also thank the Colchester ECargo Bike Delivery Project for their help following this incident.

“We are responsible parents and had the proper protective gear on our children which turned out to be a good thing.”