Yahoo News Pathushan Sutharsan: Tributes paid to architecture student killed in collision with lorry during charity bike ride
Tributes have been paid to a “brilliant” former house captain at one of London’s leading grammar schools after he was killed in a collision with a lorry during a charity bike ride.
Pathushan Sutharsan, 20, who represented Wallington County Grammar at rugby, was hit by a tipper truck during a 120km ride from London to Brighton to raise money for people affected by the war in Yemen.
Witnesses said Mr Sutharsan, an architecture student at the University of Brighton, had been crossing the A281 Guildford Road in Rudgwick, West Sussex, to reach a forest cycle track when he was hit.
Paramedics and an air ambulance attended but he was pronounced dead at the scene.
An experienced cyclist, he was part of a larger team of fundraisers, called Team A1, who were donating to Islamic Relief.
The money would “provide a lifeline for those suffering” in the Yemen humanitarian crisis, Mr Sutharsan wrote on his JustGiving page.
Donations have flooded in since his death with more than £14,000 raised over his £200 target.
His cousin Jayarishi Shankar said: “Pathu was a brilliant, vibrant, colourful person. He was a go-getter, he wanted to change the world, we called him our hero’ because he just wanted to help people.
"He was so positive and wanted to make a difference, which is why he was taking part in the charity ride. He cycled everywhere and had been training for the ride.”
A post from Wallington County Grammar’s Twitter account the day after the crash on July 22 read: “He is a credit to his school and its values.”
Mr Sutharsan was also a keen musician and rapper and had released music on Spotify under the name RXNIN. Friends and family said he had dreamed of being a musician and had recorded tracks in his own studio at the family home in Morden, where he lived with his two brothers, mother, a pharmacist, and father, who owns a shop.
Sussex Police are appealing for witnesses. A spokesperson said: “Around 10.45am on Wednesday July 22 officers responded to reports of a road traffic collision involving a cyclist and a Renault HGV tipper lorry. There have been no arrests.”
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