Cycling body: This killing has to be stopped

Within days of South African mountain bike champion Burry Stander's death, a KwaZulu-Natal cyclist has been hit by a car and critically injured.

The 22-year-old Richards Bay woman was cycling with friends on Saturday when the accident occurred.

KwaZulu-Natal Cycling president Greg Stedman has slammed impatient motorists and urged cyclists to lead by example in the use of roads.

Stedman said: "South Africans need to realise that we have a problem [that is] compounded by the lack of strict policing, impatience and a lack of respect for the law."

He said everyone should put their heads together to determine what could be done to avoid such accidents. "Together with Cycling SA, we will sit down and think of ways to address this problem."

Netcare 911 spokesman Chris Botha said the woman was riding in a group when the motorist crashed his car into her and then hit a lamp post.

"The critically injured cyclist was stabilised before being taken to hospital. A passenger in the car was injured and taken to a provincial hospital," Botha said.

The motorist was taken in for questioning by the police.

The KwaZulu-Natal police officers investigating Stander's death said the taxi driver had cooperated with them.

Police spokesman Colonel Jay Naicker said the driver would be charged with culpable homicide and will appear in the Port Shepstone Magistrate's Court today.

Stander was killed when he was hit by a taxi in Shelly Beach, on the KwaZulu-Natal south coast, while on a training ride on Thursday afternoon.

Memorial rides were held across the country at the weekend.