You're taking a bunch of buttons and sewing a vest on it. Yes, it was a LHT, and I know it came with 2 hand brakes. Yes, we know the shop replaced one cable, and yes, mom owns or manages some retail bike shops, but the article implies she was still in the USA at the time.
I didn't imply that I thought your response was directed at me, just that I had similar questions to those raised by Itsjust me.
What isn't answered is why the child accelerated away form his dad on the descent, why he was standing, whether he was, in fact, applying or trying to apply the brakes, how steep the grade was, the time and distance elements, the child's experience with hand brakes, and so on.
All we have is a bunch of facts, but nothing that strings them together well enough to form a theory. I don't know what policy is in the UK, but here the police would have impounded the bike, and at some point tested the brakes to see whether they worked or not.
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