‘We still don’t know all the facts’: Wife of cyclist killed in Rose Bay makes impassioned plea for witnesses, backs cycle path

THE family of Henri Sueke, who was killed while cycling to work in Rose Bay, has made an impassioned plea for witnesses to come forward.

Henri Sueke was killed while riding along New South Head Rd in Rose Bay on May 28, 2015. His wife Dani has called for anyone in the area at the time of the accident to come forward.

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IT has been almost two years since father-of-four Henri Sueke was killed while cycling to work but not a second goes by without his family thinking of him.

The talented eye surgeon was just 36-years-old when he walked out the front door of his young family’s home in Rose Bay for the last time.

Minutes later he was crushed under the wheels of a massive truck on New South Head Rd.

Compounding his wife Dani Sueke’s grief is that she still does not know exactly what happened to the love-her-life that day.

Speaking publicly for the first time, Mrs Sueke has made an impassioned plea for anyone who was in the area at the time of the accident, which happened near the corner of Kent Rd outside Cranbrook school about 7.45am on May 28, 2015, to come forward.

Mr Sueke left behind wife Dani and their children Yonatan, David, Adina and Eliya. Pic: Carly Earl.

“We still don’t know all the facts and there would have been a lot of people around at that time of day including people dropping their kids off to school, people waiting by the bus stop or even residents in their driveways,” she said.

“So if anyone has information that can help us piece together what happened, to give our family closure, please come forward.

“They don’t have to have witnessed the accident — even if they were just near there, please get in touch.”

Mrs Sueke has remembered Mr Sueke as a loving husband, doting father and a respected eye surgeon who had everything to live for.

Mr Sueke was a paediatric ophthalmologist at The Children’s Hospital at Westmead and was known as a rising star the field among peers.

“He always understood his job carried enormous responsibility and he always tried to be the best surgeon he could be,” Mrs Sueke said.

“He just cared so much for the kids he looked after and was renowned for the respect he showed to the nurses and all the staff, everybody loved him.

“He was incredibly humble and worked so hard to better other people’s lives.”

Henri Sueke was a talented eye surgeon.

Dani and Henri on their wedding day.

The pair instantly clicked when they met in 2004 when he was doing a six month placement at Maroondah Hospital east of Melbourne.

They were married eight months later.

“He joked he had to turn on his English charm to get me but I knew after three weeks he was definitely the man I wanted to spend the rest of my life with,” she said.

The couple moved to the UK, where Mr Sueke was from, for ten years while he did his specialist training.

They came back to Australia in March 2015, less than three months before the fatal accident, so he could do a fellowship in ophthalmology at Westmead.

“That was so he could become highly specialised, which reflected how he always went above and beyond in everything he did,” she said.

“Like instead of just cycling, he did charity bike rides. And he was a brilliant father.”

Mr Sueke used to work 12 hour days before coming home to read the children “mountains” of stories. Whenever he had the chance, he would take them on outdoor adventures.

The scene of the accident — Mr Sueke was crushed under the wheels of the massive truck. Picture: Mark Evans.

“He used to say; ‘I wish we didn’t have to sleep, it’s such a waste of time’,” she said.

“He was so funny and always made people laugh and all we have now is this indescribable sadness, which is the antithesis of what he was.

“He was so happy with life and always seized the moment.”

She said the children still miss him terribly.

“I think people believe with the passage of time you heal, but the gap and the pain is always there. We miss him every second.”

Mrs Sueke has also backed Woollahra Council’s proposal for a 2.4km shared walking and cycling path between William St in Double Bay and Norwich Rd in Rose Bay, which includes the part of New South Head Rd where Mr Sueke was killed.

Police have referred the matter to the coroner.

“If there had been a bike path, Henri would still be alive,” she said.

“A major contribution to the accident was the lack of space between him and the truck so a cycle path would have saved him.

“It is illegal to ride on the footpath so you are pitting cyclists, who don’t have airbags and side-impact panels, against heavy duty vehicles — it’s an unfair match.”

She said anyone who had ridden with Mr Sueke described him as an experienced cyclist who placed a huge importance on safety.

“So the truth is, it doesn’t matter how experienced you are and how safely you are riding, when you put a human in competition with vehicles that size in a confined space, they don’t stand a chance.”

She said none of the main roads in the eastern suburbs provided a safe passage for cyclists riding to the city or Edgecliff Station, where Mr Sueke was riding to in order to get a train to The Children’s Hospital at Westmead where he worked.

Henri with son Yonatan at a football game in September, 2014.

The couple married eight months after they met in 2004.

“I think we look at each other as cyclists, motorists or pedestrians,” she said.

“The difference is our chosen mode of transport, but every commuter along New South Head Rd is also a parent or a child, a husband or a wife.

“I would expect that everyone is afforded the same consideration because we all deserve to arrive home safely to our families at the end of the day.”

Anyone who was in the area at the time of the accident is urged to call Sharron on 0432 975 311.

A spokesman for the police said the matter has been referred to the Coroner.

“But as always, we encourage anyone with information who has not yet spoken to police to come forward,” he said.

“No charges have been laid at this stage.”

He would not say how many witnesses police had interviewed or release any findings from the crash investigation unit.

Woollahra Council staff are revisiting the design of the proposed cycle path to see if it can be improved after it received 150 responses during the community consultation phase.

Cycling groups supported the proposal but suggested improvements while recreational users of the promenade raised concerns about potential clashes between cyclists and pedestrians.

A report will go to the traffic committee in late March or early April.