A 30-year-old woman has become the fourth cyclist to die on London’s roads in 2015, after she was crushed under the wheels of a tipper truck while riding one of the London Mayor’s “Boris Bikes”.
The Daily Mail reports that the truck was travelling along a one-way street near London’s Victoria tube station when the cyclist was struck on the inside lane near traffic lights at 8am on Thursday (19/02/15).
The driver of the Gordon Plant Hire tipper truck stopped at the scene and no arrests have been made, police have confirmed.
The woman was unresponsive at the scene and was pronounced dead on arrival at hospital.
Witnesses say the truck was attempting to turn left at traffic lights when the woman cyclist was stuck and dragged beneath the wheels – the bicycle she was riding was crushed beneath the second set of the truck’s wheels.
It is reported another cyclist tried to jump in front of the lorry to prevent the truck travelling further, but the woman cyclist had already sustained fatal crush injuries.
London Mayor Boris Johnson – himself a keen cyclist – has been a champion of cycling in London, but attempts to turn London into a cycle-friendly city have resulted in a catalogue of deaths and injuries among cyclists, who are often caught up in heavy traffic, including HGVs, container lorries and buses, which may have blind spots and no protective buffers on bumpers.
The London Mayor’s Cycle Superhighways are to be rolled out to provide cycle-friendly routes across London, with cyclists being separated from other traffic.
President of the AA, Edmund King said:
“Sadly, this tragic death bears all the hallmarks of the typical London cycle death – a female cyclist killed by a tipper truck turning left.
“These cases continue – despite the AA's Think Bikes Campaign, the Metropolitan Police Changing Places initiative, and other Transport for London and Department for London campaigns.
“We have distributed more than six million Think Bikes stickers to drivers to put on their side mirrors, to remind them to think ‘bikes’ – but obviously much more needs to be done to stop this carnage.”
The Daily Mail reports that there were 13 cyclist deaths across the UK in the first two weeks of 2015.
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