2011-12-02 - Rider Down/Fatality, Tower Bridge

Next Tuesday 20 December, at 6pm outside Kings Cross station, there's a chance for all Londoners to gather to remember everyone who's died on our roads this year.

2011 has been a particularly bad year for cyclist fatalities, with 16 losing their lives on the capital's streets.

On Tuesday we'll be calling on the Mayor to put our safety above traffic flow, and asking why cyclists in London are twice as likely to be killed on our streets than they are in the cycle-friendly countries like the Netherlands.

http://lcc.org.uk/articles/kings-cross-memorial-why-are-london-cyclists-twice-as-likely-to-suffer-fatal-crashes-as-the-dutch

Spread the word!

^ BUMP!!!

Who's coming?

Bugger, why do I kept sabotaging myself by arranging trip and the like on days like that!?

Well you could abort your mission and join us (with peanut butter cups)!

Yep I'm coming.

I'll be there tonight. I've been to too many of these sorts of things of late, but increasingly feel it to be necessary. 16 deaths in one year is just appalling.

I can't be there but will send a donation to Roadpeace.

Bump - DJ and I are on our way now!

Thanks to everyone who came last night, and braving the cold. And thank you to those who I recruited on the spot to help with flyers, candle lighting and crowd control - sorr it was all a bit ad hoc and many many thanks.

Meeting some of the relatives of those who have lost their lives this year was very moving indeed. My write-up is here:
http://ibikelondon.blogspot.com/2011/12/kings-cross-christmas-vigil-thank-you.html

Here are some unsettling press reports about the inquest:

http://www.standard.co.uk/news/london/cyclist-killed-by-lorry-waved-at-driver-to-stop-him-crashing-into-her-8607713.html

http://metro.co.uk/2013/05/08/ellie-carey-crash-death-cyclist-tried-to-wave-down-her-killer-3734300/

The lorry driver wasn't charged - according to the Evening Standard, he has died of cancer after the crash. RIP.

poor eleanor. though the scandals continue.

.....The lorry driver wasn't charged - according to the Evening Standard, he has died of cancer after the crash. RIP.
At the inquest into Ellie's death the Police senior investigating officer said that she recommended a charge of 'causing death by dangerous driving' against the lorry driver. When that was sent to the Crown Prosecution Service they already knew that the driver was dying of cancer. Her understanding from emails from the CPS was that they would have charged the driver if he was not so ill.

My notes after the inquest are here:
http://lcc.org.uk/articles/ellie-carey-coroners-inquest-hears-detailed-evidence-of-london-lorry-cycling-fatality

The police were unable to discover if Mr Johnson had read the messages. When he was arrested his phone was taken but the password he gave did not work. At a later interview he was unable to remember the password for the phone.

Oh, dear, that's a shame.

You forget to account that the cycle lane allowed her to ride on the inside.

?? there are no cycle lanes on Tower Bridge rd. Even the new ASLs put in after the crash have 'gates' with no lead in lanes

News about the charity that Ellie's dad set up in her memory:

https://www.standard.co.uk/news/london/ellie-carey-father-of-cyclist-killed-near-tower-bridge-honours-her-memory-by-helping-remote-a4244941.html

^He didn't spell "killed by an HGV driver" correctly

Do you mean that it's not made sufficiently clear in the article that the HGV had a driver? We obviously know that that's a problem with many crashes. Here, there was obviously the added dimension that the driver died of cancer in 2012.

More the repeated use of "collision" or "collided with" - the HGV driver hit her and killed her.