Moment van driver is told Team GB triathlete, 52, he struck has died as police find claim he only saw her seconds before crash is a lie  

Video footage shows the moment a minibus driver is told the Team GB triathlete he hit in his van has died; Police officers disproved his claim that they did not see him until “seconds” before the collision.

Rebecca Comins, 52, was knocked off her bike by Abergavenny courier Vasile Barbu while taking part in a time trial event on the two-lane A40 in South Wales.

Barbu, 50, told police he had no idea he hit the mother of two and thought the noise from the crash, which occurred on June 2, 2022, was a package falling into his van.

Detectives calculated that Ms Comins, who had only been cycling for nine minutes at the event, was clearly visible for 18 seconds while cycling on a clear sunny day and had a bright flashing light attached to her bike.

However, Barbu claimed he saw him just ‘seconds’ before the collision and did not move to pass him until he was just two meters away from his rear wheel.

Police footage featured in BBC’s The Crash Detectives shows Barbu holding his head in his hands when he was pronounced dead at the scene.

He had previously called 999 after the accident and told the operator: ‘Hello, I hit a cyclist. Quick please’.

When asked to confirm what happened, Barbu said: ‘I’m driving… and I hit him.’

Rebecca Comins, 52, was pushed off her bike by courier Vasile Barbu during a time trial on a dual lane.

Barbu, 50, told police he had no idea he had driven into the mother of two and thought the sound of the crash was a package falling into his pickup truck.

Emergency services arrived at the scene of the accident, but despite all the efforts of paramedics, Ms. Comins could not be saved.

As a police officer pronounces Barbu dead, Barbu is seen laying his head on his head and muttering to himself as he rocks back and forth.

He is then arrested and put into a police vehicle.

However, when he was interrogated at a local police station, he was seen denying reckless driving.

‘Are you responsible for reckless driving today?’ an officer asks Barbu.

“I don’t think I am, no,” the courier replies.

He said: ‘I see [the cyclist]. I give him space. To get past him… I’m showing him around. And I heard a knock’.

Barbu told officers at the time that he believed the sound was just one of the packages falling from his vehicle.

Barbu’s reaction to being told that Ms Comins was dead was captured in footage used on BBC’s The Crash Investigators programme.

Miss Comins was cycling on a clear, sunny day when she was blown away when a bright flashing light caught on her bike.

In a victim impact statement, Ms Comins’ son George said he had raced at the event with his mother and represented Team Wales and GB with her, but had not ridden his time trial bike since his mother’s tragic death.

However, he added, when he stopped the van and got out, he saw Ms. Comins on the side of the road.

Other video footage from the scene showed extensive damage to his bike, including a hole in his rear wheel.

Sergeant Cath Raine said: ‘He was doing everything he could to stay safe; to be visible.

He said Barbu made a ‘catastrophic wrong decision’ and added: ‘An innocent cyclist paid with his life for this wrong decision.’

The investigation into his tragic death was featured on BBC Wales program The Crash Detectives after Barbu was sentenced to four years in prison last year after being found guilty of causing death by dangerous driving.

Sergeant Raine’s calculations showed that Ms. Comins was visible for at least 18.5 seconds and should have been easy to spot because she was pedaling quickly.

He said: ‘He must be pedaling because we know he’s going uphill, we know he’s accelerating.

‘Pedaling, that is, biological movement, attracts attention.

‘This is one of the things that will make it easier for any driver following him to see that he’s there.’

Police determined that Barbu’s van was half a ton overweight at the time of the crash.

Barbu was seen rocking back and forth after learning that the triathlete did not survive

After his arrest (pictured) Barbu claimed he saw Ms Comins just ‘seconds’ before she hit him

The judge said the only ‘logical conclusion’ was that Barbu made ‘a disastrous decision to overtake at the last second’ and crashed into the back of Ms Comins’ bike.

When asked in the interview why he saw the cyclist but still collided with him, Barbu told the police officers: ‘I don’t know. I don’t know what happened. ‘I really don’t know why.’

He added that she would be asking him ‘his whole life’ why he hit her.

The court heard Barbu had a clear lane on the two-way carriageway that he could have crossed to avoid the collision, but instead he crashed directly into the back of it.

Judge Shoman Khan told him: ‘You could have easily moved into the outside lane to pass him like the other drivers.

You could and should have given him much more space. ‘You could and should have given yourself so much more time.’

The judge said the only ‘logical conclusion’ was that Barbu made ‘a disastrous decision to overtake at the last second’ and crashed into the back of Ms Comins’ bike.

‘Only you know why you failed to execute what should have been a very simple manoeuvre,’ he said.

‘He was there to be seen, he was there to be seen for a few seconds. I’m sure this isn’t an emergency. “It should have been a routine overtaking manoeuvre.”

In a victim impact statement, Ms Comins’ son George said he had raced at the event with his mother and represented Team Wales and GB with her, but had not ridden his time trial bike since his mother’s tragic death.

Mrs Comins’ family said at her memorial service that she was a ‘wonderful’ wife and mother to husband Stephen and children George and Millie.

They added: ‘Beckie was incredibly kind and an inspiration to so many people. His impact on the lives of people in his local and sporting community has been particularly evident in the abundance of tributes and memories shared since his death.

When the tragedy occurred, Ms Comins was taking part in a time trial bike race with warning signs posted and other cyclists on the road.

Organized by local club Monmouthshire Wheelers, the event saw cyclists set off in one-minute intervals along the A40 dual carriageway near Raglan, South Wales.

Another attendee described Barbu passing so close to his bike moments before the fatal crash that the white Vauxhall Movano van “buzzed” him and wind turbulence caused him to careen across the road.

Prosecutor James Wilson said: ‘Rebecca Comins was there to be seen. Visibility was good, he was cycling with a bright rear light, which was obvious to other witnesses.

‘His presence on that road was not unexpected. Before reaching Ms. Comins, Barbu must have seen the road signs for the cycling event and passed similar cyclists.

‘He was cycling properly and positioned himself correctly on the road. He was on a long, straight road and she had plenty of time to see him.

‘He also had room in the outside lane where he could approach and maneuver safely and avoid the collision. Instead he struck Ms. Comins directly from behind.

‘This wasn’t a momentary misjudgment or lack of concentration.’

Tributes have been paid to Rebecca, known as Beckie, who was the Vintage Senior Champion of the Welsh Triathlon Super Series at the time of her death in June 2022 and had represented Wales the weekend before her accident.

Welsh Triathlon said in a statement: ‘Becky was a fierce competitor but had an infectious positivity and energy.

‘Becky was a multiple Ironman Wales finisher and also represented the Great Britain Age Group Team at the European Championships in Tartu 2018 and the World Championships in Lausanne in 2019, finishing both competitively.

‘He loved sports; He loved training and Becky was at the center of all social activities at his clubs.

‘Becky will be sadly missed by everyone in our triathlon community and we offer our deepest condolences to Becky’s family, Steve, George and Millie and her wider friends at this sad time.’

He was a member of the Dragon Tri Club, Newport Phoenix Bicycle Club and Caldicot Running Club.

Barbu was sentenced to four years in prison and given a driving ban for a further two years.

Crash Detectives: The Last Ride – shown tonight at 7pm on BBC One Wales, BBC Two England and BBC iPlayer