A cyclist was crushed to death by a tipper lorry at an accident blackspot where the road was too narrow for the vehicle, an inquest heard today.
TV producer Eilidh Cairns, 30, died from multiple injuries after the rush-hour collision at a pedestrian crossing near Pembridge Road, Notting Hill. The road narrowed to two metres at that point and the truck, driven by Joao Lopes, was 2.5 metres wide, Westminster coroner's court heard.
As Ms Cairns lay trapped under the wheels at 9am on 5 February last year, she pleaded with a woman to stay with her until the ambulance arrived. Eyewitnesses Melinda Ross told the inquest in a statement:
“I heard a loud bang and a scream. I saw a woman trapped under the second wheel of the lorry.
“Her body from the waist down was under the tyre itself. She asked me to help her and not to leave. She found it hard to breathe and was in pain.
“She kept asking where the ambulance was and I stayed with her and tried to keep her calm.” Ms Cairns, of Kentish Town, died in hospital at 10.48.
Lorry kills cyclist on road too narrow for it to pass | NewsLast year, before the inquest:
Around 30 London cyclists, including representatives from LCC, assembled and then handed in a statement of protest (see below) at the Crown Prosecution Service, 50 Ludgate Hill, London, on Friday 3 July 2009.
The protestors were objecting to the lax treatment of motorists who kill vulnerable road users.
We are cyclists of London, gathered here this afternoon, in a quiet protest and short vigil in memory of all our fellow cyclists killed by the drivers of vehicles; several more during this year already.
In particular we think of
Eilidh Cairns, 30, who was killed at Notting Hill Gate by a tipper lorry driver on 5th February this year, and of Anthony Maynard, 25, who was killed north of Henley by a van driver exactly a year ago.
We make our protest here at the London Crown Prosecution Service (CPS), to remind Ms Dru Sharpling, Chief Crown Prosecutor, of the decision of her colleagues at Reading CPS, when last year they inappropriately, remissly, and to our minds unforgivably, ordered that the van driver who struck Anthony (and his companion) from behind would not face charges. We do not hold Anthony’s life so cheap.
You, the CPS at London, will shortly be reviewing the case of
Eilidh Cairns who was also hit from behind on a one-way straight road.
Our protest is on behalf of all cyclists.
Across Europe, motorists are presumed to be at fault in motorist-cyclist collisions. In the UK, even faced with prime evidence of a dead body, a driver does not have to prove his innocence. Instead, the CPS decides whether charges can successfully be brought against the motorist, and can then choose to drop a case entirely.
In Anthony’s case (and as is claimed in
Eilidh’s case, and in the cases of many others) the van driver’s defence that he simply didn't see the cyclists was accepted by the CPS as an adequate accounting for the death of a highly principled and well-loved citizen in the prime of his life.
In a time when the nation as a whole is encouraged to exercise, and use forms of transport other than the car, and when climate change is seen as a real threat, cyclists need to feel that they have the full and equal protection of the law when on public roads, and not a law apparently interpreted (or simply set aside) to the maximum advantage of the driver, no matter how culpably careless.
The CPS was in dereliction of its duty last year. We fervently hope that it will adopt a different perspective, starting with the forthcoming case of
Eilidh. Allowing drivers to kill with complete impunity just will not do, and does not meet the nation’s needs and priorities.
London Cycling Campaign - Cyclists demonstrate against CPS and driver apathyKate Cairns, sister of
Eilidh Cairns, killed in a collision with an HGV in Notting Hill, will be one of those protesting outside the CPS office in Ludgate Hill, London, today.
She said,
"It seems that 'Sorry mate I didn't see you' is enough for the Crown Prosecution Service. Is that all a driver has to say to get away with killing a cyclist?"Below is the text of the demonstration statement in full:
London riders hold protest vigil outside CPS | road.cc | The website for pedal powered people: Road cycling, commuting, leisure cycling and racingSo, if at a pinch point a lorry driver kills a young woman with a vehicle wider than the road itself, they face no charges. Beyond belief.
