Unicyclist hugged his wife and son goodbye before being killed in horrific truck accident
AMANDA SAXTON
Last updated 09:13, August 14 2017
A unicyclist who died after colliding with a truck on Saturday morning was a “perfect dad” who had cycled around the world, his grieving partner says.
Bruce Hall, 53, had hugged his partner Lindsay Wu and their young son before heading off on the morning ride in the Auckland suburb of Onehunga that would end tragically.
“He left this morning perfectly happy,” Wu said, in tears, on Saturday night.
Hall was an experienced rider; he and his unicycle had journeyed up mountains and across deserts internationally, and he planned to tour the South Island in November.
Wu described Hall a “a perfect dad” to their seven-year-old boy and the love of her life. The pair met in 2005, at a Mt Albert College night class for cooking. They lived in Onehunga: raising chickens, cooking, and taking long walks together. Hall also had a daughter from a previous relationship, and worked for an Auckland rental company.
He was passionate about unicycling because it was “different and took real skill”, said Wu.
Hall had 15 years of one-wheel experience and had taken tours with multi-national unicycle crews across Uzbekistan, Vietnam, and Nepal — among other countries.
“Bruce was an adventurer,” said Wu. “But he was a very careful person, always reminding me to be safe. I don’t know how I’ll live without him.”
Saturday morning was windy, and Wu reminded her partner to take his jacket.
“Before he rode off, our son said ‘can I have a hug, Dad?’,” she said. “Then I asked for mine, he hugged me too, and walked out the door with a smile.”
His accident with the truck happened just before 9.30am near the bustling Onehunga Mall, and Hall died at the scene. The Serious Crash Unit is investigating the accident.
Hall’s friend and fellow unicyclist Ken Looi remembered him as “determined to ride everything”. The pair travelled extensively together with their cycles over the last 15 years.
Looi’s most striking memory was of escorting Hall, stricken with altitude sickness, down a Nepalese mountain in the middle of a snowstorm with sherpas.
“Bruce was up and smiling the next day,” he said.
Looi set up a Givealittle page to help support Hall’s partner and young son in the wake of the tragedy.