Cyclist Anthony Canty dies after Maldon Road collision, teenager arrested

Anthony Canty’s death has turned a rural road crash into a stark public-safety case, with Essex Police now seeking witnesses after the 39-year-old cyclist was struck in Tiptree and died in hospital four days later.

Canty, from Maldon, Essex, was knocked off his bicycle on Maldon Road at about 06:30 BST on 21 May 2026. Police said the driver of a Ford KA, an 18-year-old, was arrested in connection with the collision on suspicion of causing serious injury by dangerous driving, driving while unfit through drink or drugs, and failing to stop. The driver was later released under investigation and remains under investigation.

The force has appealed for anyone who saw the collision, or who may have CCTV or dash-cam footage from the area, to come forward. In a case involving a vulnerable road user on a route used by local traffic, the unanswered questions matter as much as the arrest: how the collision unfolded, whether speed or impairment played a role, and what evidence can establish the full sequence of events.

Canty’s name had already been known well beyond Essex. He won £1 million in the EuroMillions Millionaire Maker draw on 5 May 2020 with his partner, Katie Sullivan, but said at the time that he would keep working as a water supply worker. He was also credited with saving a police officer’s life in April 2020 after giving CPR when the officer collapsed on a bus from Witham. That history made him a familiar figure locally, but it should not distract from the central issue now before investigators: the death of a cyclist on a public road and the duty to account for how it happened.

The wider significance is unmissable. Fatal crashes involving cyclists on semi-rural roads continue to expose the risks faced by people travelling without vehicle protection, especially where visibility, speed and driver conduct can quickly become matters of life and death. Canty’s case is now a test of both road safety and investigative rigor, and Essex Police are asking the public for the evidence that could help complete the picture.