Chilling picture shows the moment London cyclist is killed by a lorry at junction
Image released as husband of the woman who died demands police reopen investigation into the tragedy
THIS is the chilling moment a young cyclist was run over and killed by a lorry at a busy London junction.
The shocking image has been released as the husband of the woman who died demands the police reopen the investigation into the tragedy.
Lawyers for Jin Chuan Zhou are writing to City of London police requesting it reconsider the decision not to prosecute driver Lee Williams over the death of Ying Tao.
It came after a three-day inquest at City of London coroner’s court heard Mr Williams had indicated left 1.4 seconds before pulling off when the lights changed.
The audible warning system and one of two side sensors on his 32-tonne truck were broken.
CCTV footage from the Bank of England showed Ms Tao, 26 was wearing a bright white helmet and was “available to be seen” in three of Mr Williams’s mirrors.
Mr Zhou, a bioscientist at Cancer Research UK, told the : “Given the evidence that has been shown in court it’s hard to understand why there was no prosecution.”
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Sally Moore, from law firm Leigh Day, said: “Having carefully considered the police collision investigation and sat through the three-day inquest, we will be writing to the City of London Police on behalf of Ms Tao’s family requesting that they review their decision not to bring criminal charges against the driver.
“We will also be making formal complaint about what appears to be a clear case of victim-blaming.”
City of London coroner’s court was told by City Police collision investigator Pc Tim Harryman that Mr Williams’ failure to spot Ms Tao as he turned left was not a “careless act”.
He pointed the finger at Ms Tao claiming she was wearing the wrong gear, had placed herself in an unsafe position in a bike lane beside the lorry and had been too slow to move off when the lights changed.
He said there was no legal requirement for HGVs to have side sensors or audible warnings.
However, he said Mr Williams would have known the speaker system was not working.
Pc Harryman told the court: “I don’t believe it’s a careless act... it’s a very busy junction with lots going on and lots vying for Mr Williams’s attention.
"I can understand how Ms Tao would have been missed in that situation.”
Deputy coroner Dr Roy Palmer yesterday found Ms Tao, who had been cycling to work at PricewaterhouseCoopers in London Bridge on June 22 last year, died as a result of a road traffic collision.
He said: “The rear wheel of Ms Tao’s bicycle came into contact with the front of a lorry that was turning across her path.
"She fell from the cycle and was run over by the lorry. She was pronounced dead at the scene.”
“An investigation into the circumstances of this incident was carried out and concluded in November 2015 with the decision to take no further action. At this time we have no plans to review this decision.”