A government scientist who worked for No 10 during Covid died after crashing into a concrete wall during a cycling holiday in Italy, an inquest into her death heard.
Susannah Boddie, 27, from Nettlebed, near Henley in Oxfordshire, was a leading health data scientist at No 10 Downing Street.
During the Covid pandemic, she offered advice to the UK Government in its handling of the health crisis. She was described by the coroner as an ‘inspiring woman’ and ‘an incredible scientist’ who was ‘loved and admired by all’.
The avid cyclist died from a ‘severe head injury’ while cycling with her boyfriend Robert Johnson in the mountains above Toscolano Maderno, near Lake Garda, on August 12, 2023.
Reports at the time of her death said she was wearing a safety helmet when she fell. However, this was not mentioned during the inquest.
In a written statement to the coroner, Miss Boddie’s boyfriend Mr Johnson said: ‘We were on the last day cycling. Everything was normal and we were cycling for about 30 minutes and it was mostly downhill.
Susannah Boddie, 17, from Nettlebed, near Henley in Oxfordshire, died after crashing into a concrete wall during a cycling holiday in Italy on August 12, 2023
Susannah Boddie, 27, was a leading health data scientist at 10 Downing Street and offered crucial advice to the government in its handling of the pandemic
‘We were following a GPS route that took us down a smaller, steeper road but nothing I wasn’t comfortable doing and nothing Susannah hadn’t done before.
‘I was slightly ahead and suddenly she came flying past me and seemed out of control. She went around a bend ahead of me, out of sight.’
He said that when he caught up with Susannah he could see she had crashed into a wall and appeared to be breathing but was bleeding from her mouth.
Pictured: The scene of the incident in Navazzo di Gargnano, near Lake Garda
Police pictured on the scene after Miss Boddie’s fatal accident
Miss Boddie was cycling on the Via Mezzane in Brescia, near Lake Garda (pictured, file image)
A passing couple stopped to help and emergency services arrived 30 minutes later due to the rural location, the inquest heard.
After 45 minutes of treatment, she was pronounced dead.
At the time of the accident, Miss Boddie’s family said: ‘She was the most wonderful daughter, sister, granddaughter and friend you could ever wish for and her memory will continue to inspire us in all we do.’
The coroner for Oxfordshire, Darren Salter, recorded a conclusion of accidental death.
At the time of the accident, Miss Boddie’s family said: ‘She was the most wonderful daughter, sister, granddaughter and friend you could ever wish for and her memory will continue to inspire us in all we do’
The coroner for Oxfordshire, Darren Salter, recorded a conclusion of accidental death
The coroner said: ‘Susannah was an inspiring woman, an incredible scientist and was loved and admired by all. She had achieved so much in her short life’
She had taken her own bike to Italy. An examination of the bike after the accident suggested that its inner tube of the front wheel may have exploded, rendering the brakes useless.
It was heard that the bike had been fine the day before when the couple had been taking downhill routes.
Mr Salter said that it was difficult to know what the circumstances were that has caused Susannah to lose control.
Mr Salter said: ‘Susannah was an inspiring woman, an incredible scientist and was loved and admired by all. She had achieved so much in her short life.’
However, he added: ‘I’m not entirely sure if we will get to the bottom of what went wrong.’
