Ironbank crash: Cyclist dies after hitting road sign in Adelaide Hills

An early morning bike ride ended in tragedy when a cyclist lost control of his bike and crashed into a traffic sign.

The 49-year-old man was in the lead and crashed out of sight of his fellow cyclists on Morgan Rd at Ironbank, in the Adelaide Hills, at around 8.15am on Sunday morning.

It appears the cyclist from Tonsley in Adelaide’s south was ‘catapulted’ from his bike and landed in nearby bushes.

Shortly afterwards, the other two cyclists came across the damaged traffic sign and tried to find their friend.

Neighbor Richard saw the commotion and offered his help to the pair. He thought someone had encountered a kangaroo.

Then he saw the cyclist’s body in the bushes.

“He was unconscious. We came and pulled him out, I checked his pulse but he had no pulse and he wasn’t breathing,” Richard told the Adelaide Advertiser.

“So we started CPR until the ambulance arrived, but I don’t think the ambulance was able to revive him.”

The other two cyclists were ‘quite upset’ by the terrible accident. The resident said that neither had undergone any CPR training.

Richard told Nine News: “When I got there they had only just found him because he was pretty much out of sight.”

Since then, he has been urging Australians to learn CPR.

“It’s not heroic, it’s just something you can do for someone if they need help,” he said.

He believes the dangerous condition of the road, with its many hills and large bends, was a contributing factor to the cyclist’s death.

The cyclist’s friends were ‘distraught’ because they could not resuscitate the cyclist

The tragedy prompted a desperate plea for road users to take care in the difficult conditions.

“I’ve been to at least four different incidents on this road where people have crashed and gone off the road,” Richard said.

This man’s death marks the 51st life lost on South Australian roads this year.

Officers from the Major Accident Unit are investigating the crash.