Tribute to talented dad killed riding to work

6:00am Wednesday 23rd April 2008

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The dad-of-one killed last week when his bicycle collided with a lorry had been riding to work for the first time since the summer.

Talented head chef Darek Banasiak, from Donnybrook Road in Streatham, was riding to work with his sous chef and commi chef last Tuesday morning when he collided with a Cemex tipper lorry at the junction of Ambleside Avenue and Mitcham Lane.

�Darek was a great person who will be sorely missed. He had everyone's respect, he was a fantastic person to be around and I still can't believe he's not here.�

Alex Greig

The 33-year-old, who had a wife, Ania, and a son called Matty, died in St George's Hospital, Tooting, less than two hours after the crash. A postmortem examination revealed he died from multiple injuries.

This week his colleagues at the Cornhill branch of Pitcher and Piano in the City paid tribute to Darek, who joined the company nine years ago as a kitchen porter and worked his way up to position of head chef.

His area manager, Stephen Boyd, told the Streatham Guardian how Darek, from Poland, and his two colleagues decided to cycle to work together last Tuesday because the weather was nicer than it had been for a while.

"It's been particularly devastating for the other two - not only have they lost a good friend but they've been witnesses to it as well," he said.

"He was such a lovely bloke, so committed to his family and his job. Sometimes you look back on people who have gone with rose-tinted glasses but he was always spot on, which makes it very sad.

"Darek was a legend within Pitcher and Piano. He was a lovely, happy man and his mood never darkened.

"He had an unquestionable work ethic and had such a strong sense of right and wrong. I first worked with him in 1999 and the best decision I ever made was to ask him to come with me to Cornhill.

"He often spoke about his plans for the future which makes it even harder to believe he's no longer here. It breaks my heart he was succeeding in making those plans happen only for them to be taken away in such a tragic accident."

His colleague Alex Greig added: "Darek was a great person who will be sorely missed. He had everyone's respect, he was a fantastic person to be around and I still can't believe he's not here."

The driver of the lorry has been interviewed by officers and no arrests have been made.

Anyone with information about the accident should call Hampton Traffic Garage's Collision Investigation Unit on 020 8941 9011.