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James O'Brien 10am - 1pm
15 August 2024, 17:37
A father has died in a freak accident while cycling to work after two fighting cats got caught in the wheels of his bicycle.
Chris Reeves, 52, who worked at Network Rail, suffered a serious brain injury after crashing his bike while not wearing a helmet on July 30.
The father-of-two was riding through Rugby, Warwickshire, early in the morning when the two fighting cats ran into his path, causing him fall, sustaining a serious head injury.
Mr Reeves, known to friends as "Lurch", was airlifted to Walsgrave Hospital (UHCW) in Coventry and underwent emergency surgery shortly after, undergoing a procedure to release pressure on his brain.
However, despite doctors' best efforts and initially showing signs of improvement, he died five days later.
His family noted Chris had fought "until the very end".
Setting up a GoFundMe to give his father a "proper send-off", Mr Reeves' son Dominic, 20, described the freak accident as an "unimaginably unfair".
The fund will now be put towards remembering the good times with a "big piss-up" according to the page.
"So to Dad, thank you. Thank you for being you, thank you for being the best dad I could ever have asked for," the page read.
"You really are a hero. I love you, we all love you, we're always here for you just as you are for us."
Read more: Mother of five, 34, dies after being savaged by dog just weeks after death of daughter
The page has now surpassed the family's initial target, raising £5,866 of their £5,000 target
"He was never in any pain and now he's looking down on all of us, always there to support us, give us guidance, probably some funny joke and a pat on the back," Dominic wrote.
"He'll be on his computer, playing all the games he could ever want, cans of coke and his Bounty, which i put in his hand before he passed, something he'll always have with him."