“He was the most loving, sarcastic, strong, hard working person I’ve ever known and the legacy he leaves behind is incredible. My brother and I can only hope to be like him.”
The son of a cyclist killed on a morning ride near Forest Way, Belrose, last week has spoken about the tragedy of losing his dad.
The rider was Nick Sky. He was killed after a driver hit him and his friend just after 6am on 4 June.
A 24-year-old man was charged over the incident, with further details at the end of this piece.
Nick Sky, who was 47, was flown in a critical condition to Royal North Shore Hospital where he underwent brain surgery.
Sadly, it was confirmed on 6 June that Nick had died.
Lachie Sky, one of Nick’s two sons, was holding his father’s hand during those final moments.
The 22-year-old told Manly Observer his dad was a loving, caring, strong father, friend and man, and his family were still “figuring things out”.
“Mum and Dad were really happy, and me and my brother all still live together and there’s a lot of love,” he said.
“I really hope [talking about who his dad was] can change a perspective of people that just see us as ‘cyclists’.
“I’ve been riding with Dad for over 10 years now, and we’ve had our fair share of close calls, but unfortunately, our worst nightmare has happened. He was just doing what he did every morning, and never came home.”
Lachie said his father “was the most loving, sarcastic, strong, hard working person I’ve ever known and the legacy he leaves behind is incredible. My brother and I can only hope to be like him”.
“I ride my bike to work every day on Mona Vale Road. All I can hope is that I’m able to do that safely from now on, knowing dad will be with me every time.”
While the full details will emerge in court, the crash occurred when the driver – allegedly at speed – changed lanes at Forest Way in Belrose, hitting the pair. While Nick was critically injured and flown to Royal North Shore Hospital for urgent brain surgery, the other rider, 56, Michael suffered serious but non-life threatening injuries.
Lachie was only a few minutes behind.
The driver, a P-plater, was later arrested and appeared before Manly Court, where he was granted conditional bail.
He has since been charged with an additional offence of negligent driving occasioning death.
He is set to appear before Manly Local Court on Wednesday 24 July 2024.
Lachie asked for the community to please be patient and careful with riders.
“I ride my bike to work every day on Mona Vale Road. All I can hope is that I’m able to do that safely from now on, knowing dad will be with me every time,” he said.
“Just remember, we are normal people. I’m 22, my dad was 47. We shouldn’t have to deal with the attitude we deal with every day when we head out to ride, especially being single file and in a bike lane.
“Dad will be dearly missed, and please don’t make any other family go through this just to get to work 10 seconds quicker.”
