Wiggins crash: Woman faces summons

A woman who allegedly knocked champion cyclist Bradley Wiggins off his bike with a van has been reported for summons by police.

After a formal interview, Cath Burrows, 44, has been summoned by Lancashire Police over driving without due care and attention.

Olympian Wiggins, who this summer became the first Briton to win the Tour de France, was taken to hospital with a bruised hand and ribs after the collision near his home in Lancashire on Wednesday. The 32-year-old is now recuperating at home.

In a statement, a police spokesman said: "Following a voluntary attendance for interview with Lancashire Police, a 44-year-old woman from west Lancashire has been reported for summons for driving without due care and attention. However an investigation into the full circumstances of the incident is still under way."

Wiggins was taken by ambulance to Royal Preston Hospital following the crash in Crow Orchard Road, Wrightington, shortly after 6pm on Wednesday. The incident happened when a white Vauxhall Astra Envoy drove out of a garage forecourt.

It was reported that Wiggins was riding a mountain bike to meet a group of local cyclists near to his home in Eccleston.

In a separate road accident, British cycling head coach Shane Sutton was admitted to hospital on Thursday with a fractured cheek bone. Sutton, 55, was in a collision with a blue Peugeot 206 driven by a 61-year-old man on the A6 Stockport Road in Levenshulme while riding a bike shortly before 8.55am.

It is understood that Burrows will not necessarily go to court but a file will be put together between the force's Road Policing Unit and Central Processing Unit with a recommendation as to what the sanction should be. No decision will be made until the file has been finalised and reviewed.

Burrows is reported to have said after the incident: "What have I done? Oh my God, I've just knocked over Bradley Wiggins." She is also understood to have told onlookers: "Everybody will hate me."

Yasmin Smith, who works at the garage, is reported to have said: "He (Wiggins) was in a lot of pain but it was dark so I didn't recognise him. He said he had broken his ribs and while a lot of police cars arrived it was about 15 minutes before the ambulances got there by which time he was blue. Then his wife arrived and there was a lot of commotion."