A Crystal Palace FC fan was chased into the path of speeding double-decker bus which killed him. Liam Foley, 28, died from his injuries in King’s College Hospital on April 5 2023, three days after the late night crash on Brixton Road, Brixton.
The Business Development Manager had been out celebrating the Eagles’ 2-1 victory over Leicester City on the night he died. In the moments leading up to his death, the Bow local had punched someone in the face and ran across Brixton Road, narrowly missing one car before being hit by the oncoming bus.
The driver had just seven metres of space to react and hit Liam with such force it dislodged one of the lights. An inquest heard that Liam had been out drinking with his brother Niall and a friend.
Liam punched a man outside KFC [right] and was chased across the northbound carriageway [black van] before being hit by the double -decker bus on the southbound carriageway [cyclist]
(Image: Google Maps)
The trio had initially been kicked out of Gremio de Brixton, a venue beneath St Matthew’s Church on Brixton Hill, for vaping inside. They refused to leave as they wanted to be refunded for their entry fee, but left after police threatened them with arrest.
They then went for more drinks at the Prince of Wales pub on Coldharbour Lane – about four minutes on foot from the Brixton Hill venue – before heading to neighbouring KFC for a snack. But Liam was also kicked out of the KFC – which faces Brixton Road – for jumping the queue.
DS Richard Budd said a separate group of five from the KFC and Liam’s entourage had “banter” outside the restaurant before Liam punched one of them in the face. Liam ran away and was chased into southbound carriageway by two of the other group.
Liam then crossed the central reservation and was hit by the oncoming bus from Brixton Hill, leaving him with a fractured skull. DS Budd added there will be no charges brought against the two who chased him as there is no suggestion of criminality. It wasn’t clear why the conversation outside KFC turned to violence.
All five were identified after one of the group handed himself into a police station and said he’d been involved in an altercation.
Police attended, and it was the same officers on the scene who’d threatened Liam with arrest earlier that evening at the Brixton Hill venue. Despite driving over the speed limit, the driver was treated as a witness and Liam’s cause of death was registered as being the result of a road traffic collision (RTC).
‘I thought that love would last forever and I was wrong’
Liam’s dad, Mike Foley, said: “I felt a responsibility to be here this morning. I was there with Liam when he came into the world and I felt I should be with him at the end, that I count as today.
“Thank you to the court and everybody involved in finding out that happened that evening, and all the people that looked after Liam on that fateful evening. Especially the amazing team from the London Ambulance Service.”
He added: “I have no feelings of ill will or revenge. No one woke up on that Saturday morning and intended Liam harm, let alone kill him. Liam was loved everyday of his life by his family, his girlfriend, and his hundreds of friends who turned up at the hospital and at the funeral in their droves, even from Australia.
“Liam was my North, my South, my East, my West, my working week and my Sunday rest. My noon, my midnight, my chalk, my song. I thought that love would last forever, and I was wrong.”
Liam’s organs saved four people
Mr Foley added that Liam donated all his organs, with four people receiving a transplant thus far. A man in his 30s was given Liam’s kidney and pancreas after waiting for four years.
Another man – in 20s – was given Liam’s other kidney after two years of waiting. And a teenage boy was given liver transplant with a man in 60s receiving the “rare gift” of a double lung transplant.
Liam’s girlfriend raised over £25,000 for charity in his memory
Liam’s grieving girlfriend, Josephine Griffiths, ran the London Marathon in 2023 with hopes of raising £2,000 for the brain and spine foundation. But she ended up raising almost 13 times what she had initially hoped for.
She said: “I am running the London Marathon 2023 for the Brain & Spine Foundation. It is a small charity that does amazing things. After my my boyfriend Liam, recently passed away from significant brain injuries, this charity means so much more to me.
“This is in memory of him, and any donation you can make today will make a real difference to other loved ones affected by these kind of life changing conditions.”
In a statement at the time, Crystal Palace football club said: “We are deeply saddened to learn of the tragic passing of lifelong fan, Liam Foley. Our thoughts are with his family and loved ones at this extremely sad time.
“We understand that Liam’s girlfriend, Josephine, is running the London Marathon and raising funds in his memory – and we wish her all the very best.”
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