A father died on his morning commute after falling from his bike when two fighting cats crossed his path and became stuck in his wheels.
Chris Reeves, 52, was not wearing a helmet and suffered serious brain injuries in the crash in Rugby, Warwickshireon July 30th.
Despite being airlifted to Walsgrave Hospital (UHCW) in Coventry and undergoing emergency surgery to relieve pressure in his head, he died five days later, surrounded by friends and family.
His 20-year-old son Dominic Reeves described the freak accident as “unimaginably unfair”: “If you were to ask someone what the most unfortunate and unpredictable way to go would be, you wouldn't be able to think of one.”
Dominic has a GoFundMe to give his father a proper send-off and said he wanted everyone to remember the good times and have a “big row.”
“He was only five minutes away from work, he was almost there,” he said.
You never think it's going to happen to you until it does.
“It's hard to say because I want my dad back, but his injuries could have been less serious and he could have been completely fine if he had been wearing a helmet.
“Then wear a helmet.”
Chris, a Network Rail signaller from Rugby, was found semi-conscious by a passer-by on Abbey Street at around 5.30am on July 30 after falling from his bike and hitting his head.
Later, CCTV footage from an adjacent garage revealed that Chris had fallen from his bike after two cats fighting on the street had preceded him.
“He must have scared them when he came around the corner and they ran ahead of him,” Dominic said.
Follow Metro on WhatsApp to be the first to hear the latest news
Metro on Whatsapp! Join our community for the latest news and juicy stories.
'One of them ended up under the front tire and the other unfortunately under the rear tire.
'He somehow fell off his bike and suffered a serious brain injury.'
Chris was sedated and taken by ambulance to a nearby field, from where he was airlifted to Walsgrave Hospital in Coventry.
Dominic remembers visiting Chris the day before the accident.
“The last time I saw him was on Monday, when I was helping him with some things for Grandpa,” he said.
'We watched Blackadder: Back And Forth and then I gave him a hug, like I always do, because you don't expect it.'
The next day Dominic was suddenly woken up by his mother, Kia Cressey, who said: 'Your father has had an accident, he is in Walsgrave'.
He rushed to hospital with his brother Jack, 17, and his godfather Simon Wright, one of his father's best friends.
“I saw the CT scan of his brain and it was not good,” Dominic said.
Chris underwent emergency surgery to relieve pressure on his brain and showed signs of improvement.
“The rest of the week, whenever I asked for updates, they said he was fine,” Dominic said.
But on Sunday he received a call that Chris's temperature was out of control and that his condition had deteriorated when he arrived at the hospital.
Chris did not respond to the medication and the doctors told Dominic there was a good chance he would not survive the night.
“We spoke to the doctor and he said he was in a very, very bad state and it was questionable whether he would make it through the morning,” Dominic said.
'He said he was either going to go on his own or we were going to turn off the engines and let him float away. So we got the whole family together and we were all there with him.
“They eventually shut down his vitals and to be honest, he really fought to the end. I put my hand on his hand and the other on his chest and eventually he fell asleep.”
Before he died, Dominic gave his father a Bounty chocolate bar because Chris loved coconuts and video games, and they became friends through that.
“The accident should never have happened and I will always be angry about that because it is unimaginably unfair,” he said.
Dominic was worried that his father would continue to live without any quality of life. Chris explicitly stated that he would find the situation horrible.
Chris has experienced first-hand what it's like to care for someone with a brain condition after moving in with his father Peter, 78, who has dementia.
Dominic has started a fundraising campaign to give his father the best possible farewell.
“I remember him telling me that if anything ever happened to him, he didn't want it to be something somber and dressed in black,” he explained.
'He wanted to bring people together, remember the good times and just have one big party.'
Since his death, Dominic and his family have been inundated with messages of support on social media.
“It's only now that I realize how important he was to the community,” he said.
I don't think anyone can ever be in those shoes.
“I am eternally grateful to my father and extremely grateful to everyone who donates. Because as the man he was, he deserves the very best.”
Please contact our news team by emailing us at [email protected].
For more stories like this, Check out our news page.
MORE : Pope 'hides alien secrets in Vatican', claims UFO campaigner
MORE : Woman went outside for a cigarette break – moments later she could no longer walk
MORE : School worker stole chicken wings worth over £1,000,000
Get the latest news, feel-good stories, analysis and more you need to know
This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and Google Privacy Policy And Terms of Service apply.