‘He will be sorely missed’: Beloved father, husband and cyclist mourned after fatal road crash in Alice Springs
A MUCH-LOVED husband and father is being mourned by friends and family after he died when he was hit by a car while cycling in an incident which has rocked a community
Centralian Advocate
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ALICE Springs father, husband and cyclist Steve Yates is being mourned by friends and family after he died when he was hit by a car while cycling in a club event on the weekend in an incident which has rocked the whole community.
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Mr Yates, aged 57 and originally from Perth, is survived by his two daughters in their early teens, Lydia and Francis, and his wife Katrina.
He worked in the IT industry in Alice Springs after moving to the Territory around three years ago.
A close friend of Mr Yates’s, Liam Doherty, said the pair first bonded over their mutual love of riding.
“When I moved to Perth I didn’t know anybody and I heard Steve and another guy talking in the corridor about riding so I just went up to them, because I’m a cyclist, and introduced myself,” he said.
“Since then we’ve been great mates.”
The pair went on to establish a cycling club in Perth together 14 years ago and have been on cycling trips around the country and around the world.
Mr Doherty said Mr Yates loved living in Alice Springs and was a committed family man.
“He threw himself into fatherhood with the same gusto (as with cycling) and was a great father to Lydia and Francis. I never knew where he got the energy from,” he said.
“He will be sorely missed.”
Mr Doherty said the accident proves how dangerous being a cyclist can be in Australia.
“We’ve had so many near misses,” he said.
“With the anger from motorists it’s so difficult. Every day we ride our bikes we just don’t know what’s going to happen.”
Another close friend of Mr Yates’s from university, Mark Dennison, said his friend started studying physics at the University of Western Australia after graduating from high school early because of how intelligent he was.
Mr Dennison described Mr Yates as “witty, compassionate, a great family guy” and also a “Bob Dylan tragic”.
The pair played in a band together before getting into cycling after graduating.
President of the Alice Springs Cycling Club, Max Yffer said the incident had shaken the club and cycling enthusiasts all around the country who have been in touch to offer their support.
“The support, it’s just been extraordinary,” he said.
I’ve had messages from people from other (cycling) clubs around Australia, one in New Zealand – They know what it’s like when they lose somebody,”
“There’s no cyclist that hasn’t had an accident or had a close call.”
He said all future events for the club had been cancelled until further notice, with plans in place for a memorial ride for Mr Yates.
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He said someone driving past notified the group of cyclists that Mr Yates had been hit while doing a time trial on Darken Drive, Simpson Gap on Saturday morning.
The 30-year-old driver, a resident of Alice Springs remained at the scene and was taken into custody.
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