‘The loss is unbelievable’: Wife of cyclist killed by truck tells court of ongoing grief

The family of a cyclist who was killed while riding from Melbourne to attend the Tour Down Under in 2019 later retraced his final trip and stopped at each spot he took a photograph, a court has heard.

Melbourne cyclist Daryl Adams, 60, was left to die on the side of the road after being hit by a truck in South Australia’s Coorong in January 2019.

Daniel Luke Barry, 39, was found guilty of dangerous driving after a trial in Mount Gambier, and is awaiting sentencing in the District Court.

He is disputing leaving the scene of the accident, claiming he did not know he had hit the cyclist because he was listening to music.

Judge Stephen McEwen is yet to rule on the factual dispute.

On Monday, Mr Adams’s family read statements to the court, describing their deep sense of loss and heartbreak over his sudden death.

Jenny Adams told the District Court that her husband had been her dancing partner for more than three decades and their future together had been taken from her.

“I have not just lost my husband but my children’s father and my dancing partner of 35 years.

“Daryl was much-loved and I miss him terribly. I still see his kind face in my mind and I hope that image will never leave me.”

‘We followed the route Daryl took’

Mr Adams’s sister Jan Cleeman told Judge McEwen that her brother would always greet children first, then animals before saying hello to adults.

“We all knew Daryl was special — he had such a great love, not only for his two sons, but for his nieces and nephews who all adored him,” she said.

“We now have to suffer the early loss of Daryl and there are reminders of his death every day.

“We think of Daryl with every cyclist we see, we think of Daryl with every truck we see.”

His niece Ashlea Cleeman told the court that her “fun and silly uncle Daryl” would always share stories from his cycling trips.

“We couldn’t bear thinking of Daryl alone in a different state so we decided on the Sunday after his death to load up two cars and start the journey to Kingston,” she said.

“We followed the route Daryl took so we could see what he saw, stopping at every stop he made and finding all the spots he took photos at so we could be closer to him knowing he was standing in the same spot a few days earlier.

“I can’t describe the feeling we all had, driving along the same stretch of road that Daryl rode — counting down the kilometres until we knew we’d reached his final resting place.”

Judge McEwen will sentence Barry at a later date.