Another finance executive suffers crash during London commute
The ultra-competitive nature of finance goes hand in hand with that of fitness and sports. Cycling has been a popular pastime for those in finance (and now fintech) for years, but riding a bike during the London commute has proved to be a danger time and time again for finance professionals.
Giuseppe Amitrano, a former UBS director and the current CEO of investment management firm Wieldmore, was involved in what he describes as a "horrific accident that unfolded few days ago" in which a collision with a London taxi resulted in Amitrano's bike "flinging [him] several meters backwards."
This comes within the same week in which fintech unicorn Wise's CFO, Matt Briers announced he was stepping down from his position to focus on recuperation after an incident a year ago in which he "went under the wheels of a bus".
Not everyone is lucky enough to survive. Jerome Roussel, formerly a trader at investment firm ADG, died in 2017 after a crash involving a lorry.
Accidents aren't always preventable by obeying the laws of the road. Amitrano says the taxi that hit him was "unaware of [a] red light." One of Roussel's trading acquaintances (who passed the incident himself whilst cycling) said, "He wouldn't jump lights, he wasn't a weaver."
During his own crash, Amitrano says he avoided a direct collision with the taxi by braking so hard that his front brakes snapped. However, he banged "violently against the taxi's right side" and was flung several metres backwards. He then initially found himself completely paralyzed, which a paramedic said is not unusual in the circumstances: "Gradually, sensation began to return, along with a torrent of pain that engulfed every inch of my body."
Cycling intelligence reported 12 severe crashes involving bikes in 2022, six of these resulting in deaths (five of which had multiple casualties). These accidents happened following collisions with everything from lorries to e-scooters.
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