From The Daily Mail:
A motorcyclist was killed in a freak accident after he was knocked off his bike by a flying pheasant.
Musician Matthew Johnson, 32, was thrown off balance when the bird flew out from a near-side hedge and hit the side of his helmet. An inquest heard it is likely Mr Johnson was hit by his Kawasaki bike, which he bought in 2010, as it 'cartwheeled' down the road before plunging into nearby trees.
Nasty, very nasty.
Spotted by Pavlov's Cat at the BBC:
A Durham Police spokesman said:
"From our initial investigations it appears that about 9.30am, Mr Jameson has* left his home to tend to his cattle on his parents' farm. At about 4.35pm, having had no contact, co-workers have searched the farm area and have located him lying trapped beneath his quad bike on a steep and boggy hillside. It appears that while negotiating the very steep incline, the quad bike has* overturned and landed on top of him."
The hillside is not visible from the roadside, police said. Officers are working with the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) to investigate what the spokesman described as a "tragic accident."
It appears that cows were not taken in for questioning.
* The use of the present perfect ("has left") instead of the past perfect ("had left") really annoys me, and it is becoming more and more widely used. In the sentences quoted, simply saying "Mr Jameson left" or "the quad bike overturned" would have been better anyway.
From The Metro:
"The pigeon smashed through my helmet visor and even smashed the lens of my glasses," [Matthew Brealy] said.
"I was doing 50mph at the time and the impact knocked me unconscious. It appears that I collapsed on the front of my bike and at the same time I hit the throttle, so the bike accelerated out of control. Police told me afterwards they estimated that the bike had gone from 50mph to 140 mph in seconds. Thankfully for me it happened on a straight road which is why I probably didn’t fall off the machine."
The pigeon's suicide mission was probably inspired by the tactic adopted by partisans, which is to string wire across the road at roughly neck height, which neatly decapitates enemy motorcycle riders. We're in big trouble if this catches on.
From Tampa Bay Online:
According to the Florida Highway Patrol, Maurice Anthony Fugere of Cottage Grove, Minn., was navigating a curve in the highway just south of College Avenue about 7:30 p.m. when he struck the cow, which was standing in the road.
Fugere, who was not wearing a helmet, was thrown from his 1995 Harley-Davidson, troopers said. He was pronounced dead at the scene.
Spotted by Joseph Takagi, who adds, "Yeah, sure the cow just happened to be standing there..."
Spotted by Pensions Minister Former Tory at the BBC:
A man suffered a broken collarbone when he was struck by a low-flying swan and knocked off his motorbike in Worcestershire. The incident happened in Crossway Green, in Stourport-on-Severn, shortly after 1145 BST. West Midlands Ambulance Service said it treated the motorcyclist for his injuries at the scene. He was then taken to hospital for further assessment and treatment, an ambulance service spokeswoman said.
FT goes on to ask:
How did the cows procure this result? It may suggest - to adopt the wording of BBC and tabloid journalism - that there's not only a medium of exchange which cows have and is acceptable to swans, but also communication between the species. We developed unmanned aircraft, the cows trained kamikaze swans.
As a biker, I'm keen to understand new risks and this, frankly, is a concern. Is war declared on two-wheelers?
The short answer would appear to be "Yes":
Austria, 17 July 2009: Motorcyclist and pillion rider badly injured after hitting cow. Cow died at the scene.
Not much of a result from the cow's point of view, so they changed their tactics:
Lower Saxony, 24 May 2010: Motorcyclist slowed down when passing escaped cow at the side of the road. The cow charged him, knocked him off his motorcycle and then gave him a good kicking. Cow not captured until days later.
Austria, 23 August 2010: Cow stood in the way of a motorcyclist who couldn't brake in time. Cow lightly injured, motorcyclist taken to hospital by helicopter.
3 July, Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, German: In den frühen Morgenstunden prallte der "Euronight 211" aus Schweden kommend trotz Schnellbremsung auf eine sich im Gleis aufhaltende Kuh. Die Strecke bei Papendorf in der Nähe von Pasewalk musste für knapp drei Stunden gesperrt werden... Über die Schadenshöhe liegen bisher keine Angaben vor, allerdings sind Trieb- sowie zwei Reisewagen beschädigt. Der Tierhalter wird sich wegen gefährlichen Eingriffs in den Bahnverkehr strafrechtlich verantworten müssen.
Briefly: the night train from Sweden hit a cow on the rails, despite braking hard. The stretch of track was shut down for three hours. The engine and two carriages were badly damaged. The owner of the cow is liable to criminal proceedings for reckless endangerment of the rail system.
The cow was probably inspired by the Egyptian water buffalo, who managed to kill eighteen people last November using this method.
7 July, Vorarlberg, Austria: Der Landwirt wollte... ein Rinderkalb an der Mutterkuh tränken, da dieses nicht von allein zum Milcheuter gelangen konnte. Plötzlich stieß die Mutterkuh mit ihren Hörnern gegen den Mann. Der Landwirt erlitt Verletzungen am Oberschenkel und wurde mit der Rettung in das Krankenhaus Bregenz gebracht.
Briefly: farmer wanted to encourage calf to drink from mother's udder. The cow suddenly attacked him with her horns. He was injured in the thigh and taken to hospital.
12 July, Steiermark, Austria: Ein über die Straße laufendes Reh hat am Montagfrüh einen Verkehrsunfall ausgelöst. Der 28-jährige Autolenker war in Fochnitz im Bezirk Mürzzuschlag mit seinem Pkw von der Straße abgekommen und gegen einen Baum gekracht. Feuerwehrleute mussten den verletzten Autofahrer aus dem Unfallwrack bergen.
Briefly: a reindeer on the road caused driver to lose control and hit a tree. Fire brigade had to cut him from wreckage. And yes, I know that a deer is technically not a cow.
20 July, Leuggelbach, Switzerland: «Am Montagmorgen hat mich ein befreundeter Bauer angerufen, ob ich nicht kurz bei seinen Kühen nach dem Rechten sehen könnte», so Jenny... Doch kaum hat der hilfsbereite Mann die Wiese betreten, wird er von einem Schlag in den Rücken zu Boden gerissen... Mindestens 15 Kühe überrennen den am Boden liegenden Rentner. «Ich dachte nur noch, du musst aufstehen, sonst trampeln sie dich tot.» Mit letzter Kraft rettet sich Jenny hinter den Zaun. Dort bleibt er blutüberströmt liegen.
Hündin Leika erkennt sofort, dass es ihrem Herrchen schlecht geht. Sie rennt zum Nachbarhof – «dort war sie schon ein paar Mal mit mir», sagt der 68-Jährige. «Sie ist in die Küche gelaufen, hat den Bauern angestupst, gebellt und nicht locker gelassen, bis er ihr zur Unfallstelle gefolgt ist.»... Mit einem Helikopter wird Jenny nach Zürich geflogen.
Briefly: Mr Jenny went to check on a neighbour's cows. He was knocked down as soon as he entered the pasture and then trampled by at least fifteen cows (not clear who counted them). While he lay bleeding behind a fence, fearing for his life, his dog Leika 'did a Lassie' and raised the alarm at a neighbouring farm. He was taken to hospital by helicopter and spend several days in intensive care with nine broken ribs.
20 July, Niedersachsen, Germany: Eine womöglich schlecht gelaunte Kuh ist im niedersächsischen Bad Lauterberg auf einen Motorradfahrer zugestürmt und hat dessen Zweirad umgeworfen. Nach Polizeiangaben hatte der Biker das entlaufene Tier am Straßenrand erspäht und war daher langsamer gefahren. Die Kuh ging unvermittelt zum Angriff über. Nachdem sie das Motorrad umgeschubst hatte, schlug sie mit den Hinterbeinen danach aus und lief davon... Das ausgebüxte Tier ist schon seit zehn Tagen im Alleingang unterwegs.
Briefly: motorcyclist slowed down when he saw a cow at the side of the road. The cow promptly attacked him and kicked it with her hind legs. The cow has been on the run for ten days. I found this story on a biker forum, much hilarity ensues as to whether the motorcycle was a BMW GS, which is nicknamed 'cow'.
25 July, Kärnten, Austria: Bei einer Wanderung im Astental... ist am Sonntag eine 39 Jahre alte Urlauberin aus Wien von Kühen attackiert worden. Sie erlitt bei einem Sturz Kopfverletzungen. Die Frau hatte ihren Hund bei der Wanderung mitgenommen, die Rinder wurden deshalb aggressiv, obwohl der Hund angeleint war. Ein zufällig vorbeikommender Wanderer aus Klagenfurt versorgte die Frau und alarmierte die Rettung. Die Verletzte wurde ins Krankenhaus Lienz geflogen.
Briefly; woman was taking dog for a walk. The cows became aggressive, even though the dog was on a lead. The woman suffered bad head injuries and was flown to hospital.
26 July, Franken, Germany: Die Bäuerin und zwei Helfer hatten... ein frisch geborenes Kalb gerade mit Ohrmarken versehen. Anschließend wollte die Bäuerin das Jungtier an das Muttertier zum Säugen anlegen. Die Kuh, die von den Dreien zu diesem Zwecke fixiert worden war, "war offensichtlich anderer Meinung", heißt es in dem Polizeibericht wörtlich.
Das Tier drehte sich plötzlich um, stieß die 60-jährige Bäuerin mit dem Kopf gegen die Brust, so dass die Frau zu Fall kam. Anschließend spießte die Kuh mit einem Horn die Frau am Oberschenkel auf und hob sie zwei Mal an... Sie wurde vom Rettungsdienst zur stationären Versorgung in das Krankenhaus nach Haßfurt gebracht.
Briefly: The farmer (a woman) and two helpers had put ear tags on a newly born calf and wanted to bring it back to its mother. The cow, who had been segregated 'had different views on the matter' (according to the police), knocked the farmer to the floor, stabbed a horn into her thigh and then tossed her in the air twice. The farmer was taken to hospital by ambulance and treated as an in-patient.
30 July, Bayern, Germany: Wie die Polizei mitteilte war eine Bäuerin damit beschäftigt, eine Kuh auf den Melkstand zu treiben. Plötzlich ging die Kuh auf die 53-Jährige los. Sie drückte die Landwirtin gegen einen Absperrbügel. Der Mann der Bäuerin bemerkte das Unglück und eilte seiner Frau zur Hilfe. Als der 69-Jährige mit einer Gabel auf das Tier losging gelang es ihm, die Kuh abzudrängen. Die Frau erlitt bei dem Angriff lebensgefährliche Quetschungen und wurde mit dem Rettungshubschrauber in eine Klinik geflogen.
Briefly: Farmer (a woman) was taking a cow to be milked. Cow suddenly attacks and presses her against a barrier. Husband counter-attacks cow with a pitchfork and drives her off. Woman suffered life threatening injuries and was flown to hospital.
Here's one I missed off the June round-up.
12 June, Vorarlberg, Austria: Eine 36-jährige Hirtin aus Egg-Großdorf ist am Samstag bei einem Arbeitsunfall schwer am Rücken verletzt worden... [Es] öffneten zwei Männer am Samstagmittag die Verriegelung der Klapptüre, um das Vieh auszuladen. Während sie die Klappe öffnen wollten, begann eine Kuh bereits darüberzulaufen. Dadurch wurde die Klapptüre unerwartet schnell und heftig nach unten gestoßen. Die Hirtin geriet unter die Klappe und erlitt laut Polizei schwere Wirbelverletzungen.
Da der Hubschrauber wegen Nebels den Unfallort nicht anfliegen konnte, wurde die Verletzte von der Bergrettung in eine Talsohle gebracht und von dort mit dem Hubschrauber ins Landeskrankenhaus Feldkirch eingeliefert.
Briefly: Two men were opening the back door/ramp of a cow transporter, a cow barged it open, the ramp fell down and injured the farmer (again, a woman) badly in the back. She was taken down to the valley by mountain rescue and then flown to hospital. You see - cows have worked out how to use doors and gates as weapons, see also this story.
And, just to round off, one from May that I haven't mentioned yet:
24 May, St Gallen, Switzerland: Gestern wurde ein 80-jähriger Wanderer schwer verletzt, weil ein Stier auf ihn losgegangen war. Der Mann war auf dem Wanderweg durch die Weide gegangen. «Das ausgewachsene Tier hat den Mann mehrmals attackiert, auch als er bereits am Boden lag»... Ein Schild in der Nähe des Hofs warnte vor dem gefährlichen Tier.
Briefly: 80-year old was hiking on path through pasture, was repeatedly attacked by a bull 'even though he was already on the floor. There is a sign warning of the danger. NB, this farm is next door to the one where a woman had been killed by a cow three weeks previously.
From the BBC's re-hash of a press release:
The report said the A537 through the Peak District, known as the Cat and Fiddle, had severe bends, steep falls from the carriageway and was edged by dry-stone walls or rock face for almost all its length.
Fatal and serious collisions on the route - popular with tourists, goods vehicles and motorcyclists - rose from 15 in the three years to 2005 to 34 between 2006 and 2008. Most crashes happened at weekends during the summer in dry, daylight conditions.
From the website of the people who compiled the report:
Top of this year's persistently higher risk roads is the A537 between Macclesfield and Buxton, known nationally as the Cat and Fiddle. A 50mph single carriageway, running through the Peak District National Park, the route has severe bends, steep falls from the carriageway and is edged by dry-stone walls or rock face for almost all of its length. It is popular with tourists, heavy goods vehicles and high-powered leisure motorcyclists.
Fatal and serious collisions on this section have risen by 127% in the last 3 years rising from 15 in 2003-2005 to 34 in 2006-2008, with most crashes at weekends during the summer in dry, daylight conditions. Police records show that the vast majority of casualties were motorcyclists, from outside the local area, male, and with an average age of 35.
