Ethan Bradley
York, d.24.November.2021
Ethan Bradley was a well known bike messenger and advocate in York,
England. He was chair of the couriers section of the Independent
Workers’ Union of Great Britain (IWGB) where he led campaigns for
his fellow workers’ pay, rights and employment conditions. Ethan
suffered a head injury while falling from his bike after a night out
with friends. He passed away suddenly a week after the accident on
November 24, 2021.
Tributes paid to ‘kind, well-loved’ York
cycle courier who has died suddenly aged 28
Ethan Bradley died at his home on Pottery Lane last Wednesday (24
November). He was discovered by his flat mate.
The exact cause of Ethan’s death has not yet been established, but
it may have been as a result of complications after a cycling
accident he suffered just over a week earlier.
The accident happened near the railway station. He was wearing a
helmet, but banged his head.
Ethan went to hospital but seemed to have fully recovered and had
been back working before the shocking news of his death.
Ethan was well known in York. He was a courier who delivered food to
countless homes in the city as a key worker throughout the pandemic
lockdown.
And as a chair of the couriers section of the Independent Workers’
Union of Great Britain (IWGB) he spearheaded campaigns for his
fellow workers’ pay, rights and conditions.
His friends have launched a fundraising campaign to pay for his
funeral. Organiser Holly Parker said: “Ethan was a guy who had so
much to give others, we wanted to return the favour and give
something back to him.
“Ethan was well loved and will be missed by so many, he was the life
of the party. It only feels right for him to have the send off he
truly deserves.”
Fellow York courier Diane Williams told YorkMix what a wonderful
person Ethan was.
“He was kind, polite, courteous, happy to help anybody. Just just a
generally nice young man,” she said.
His death had left the tight-knit courier community in shock, she
said.
And she hoped more people would help with the fundraising campaign.
“All through the lockdown, when everybody was off the streets, we
all carried on working.
“And Ethan was out as well. Given everything we did during lockdown,
I think it would be nice if people could pay him back.”
During lockdown, Ethan was one of the couriers who was issued with a
fixed penalty notice for riding through the York footstreets – even
though they were told that restrictions on cycling had been
temporarily lifted.
And his work as a courier journalist has been nominated for a
British Journalism Award. Ethan worked with the Mirror, ITV and
others to investigate Deliveroo pay.
He was due to attend the award ceremony next week. Friends are
organising for a photograph of Ethan to be displayed at the event.
OBITUARY: Ethan Bradley, 28, cycle courier and campaigner
A GRIEVING mother has told how she will keep her son's ashes with
her until she dies - then they will be scattered together with her's
in the mountains.
Rosemary Bradley's son Ethan died suddenly at home in York aged just
28.
His funeral will take place tomorrow - Tuesday, December, 14 -at
York Crematorium.
Ethan, who worked as a cycle courier and was a passionate campaigner
for workers' rights, died on November 24 - two weeks after coming
off his bike and hurting his head. No other vehicle was involved.
Rosemary said she was awaiting test results but accepted she may
never know the exact cause of death.
She told The Press: "He hit his head but everything repaired OK. He
had a sore shoulder for a while and then his flatmate came home and
found him dead on the bedroom floor.
"That is all we know. We now have to have different tests. It is
hard to believe that there can be no cause, but sometimes that is
the case.
"No one is to blame. No other vehicle was involved. We just don't
know."
Rosemary said Ethan was her fourth child, born when she was aged 44,
and a source of pleasure and pride.
She said: "He was very precious. I was a single mum and it was a
real privilege to have a child at 44 and a pleasure to raise him.
"He loved family life and never put the phone down without saying:
'I love you Mum'.
"He was a very strong character - a champion of the underdog who
never gave up."
Ethan was chair of the couriers section of the Independent Workers’
Union of Great Britain (IWGB) and led campaigns for his fellow
workers’ pay, rights and conditions.
His mum said: "I brought him up to fight. He always stood up against
bullying."
Rosemary, who now lives in Scotland, said she would take Ethan's
ashes back home with her.
"They will stay with me until I die then they will be mixed with
mine and scattered on the side of a Scottish mountain among the wild
flowers. Ethan loved being here - he loved hiking and climbing. It
was hard to keep him still, he ran like the wind and had run
marathons and the Great North Run."
Following his death, Ethan's friends have been fundraising for his
funeral, raising close to £4,000 via GoFundMe.
Organiser and close friend Holly Parker said: "He was a really
lovely guy and very caring. He was passionate about his union work
and helping people.
"He didn't have life insurance so the money raised will cover
funeral costs.
"The fact the fundraising has gone so well shows how well he was
loved."
Ethan
Bradley: Well known Deliveroo courier and campaigner, 28, died
after head injury from bike accident, inquest finds
A 28-year-old campaigner and journalist from York died ten days
after falling off his bike and sustaining a severe head injury, an
inquest has found.
Yorkshire Post, August 9, 2022
Ethan Bradley, a Deliveroo courier who campaigned for better
workers’ rights, had the accident outside York Station on November
13 last year after enjoying an evening out with friends. Police who
were on patrol witnessed Mr Bradley, who lived in Heworth, falling
over his handlebars onto the road. Believing he had had a seizure,
they called an ambulance who took Mr Bradley to York Hospital. But
Mr Bradley did not wait to be seen by a doctor and instead returned
home.
The inquest heard that some ten days later on November 23, he
returned to the hospital’s A&E complaining of a headache,
numbness in his arms and legs and hearing loss. He explained his
cycling accident,which also appeared on his triage notes. But
he was told by Dr Rawnak Jaibaji that he did not believe it was
related to his accident as, had the injury been serious, he would
have begun exhibiting symptoms earlier.
Mr Bradley was given self care advice and sent home. He was seen by
his housemates that evening, and heard by them the next morning. But
on returning from work on November 24, his housemate found Mr
Bradley unresponsive in his bedroom. Paramedics were called and he
was pronounced dead at the scene. A post-mortem revealed Mr Bradley
sustained a serious skull fracture as well as some bleeding on the
brain. The fractures were not diagnosed as Mr Bradley had not
undergone a head scan in hospital on November 23 due to the length
of time since he sustained the injury.
Dr Jaibaji said even if Mr Bradley had stayed in hospital to be seen
on the day of his injury, he may not have been scanned as he was in
drink. The cause of death was given as skull fracture, head injury,
and the taking of prescribed medications for anxiety, although
toxicology reports showed that he had a normal amount of medication
in his system. Mr Bradley’s mother Rosemary described her son as
“kind, generous and loving man who volunteered to deliver
medications for vulnerable people in lockdown.”
In a letter sent to the coroner, she wrote: “He was chair of a
section of the Independent Workers’ Union of Great Britain, and a
regular journalist for the Bureau of Investigative Journalism.
“His autism held him back to a degree, but he never gave up.
“I have been assured that Ethan would have made an excellent
journalist.”
Coroner Jonathan Leach recorded a verdict of accidental death.
