Mum-of-four died in lorry horror

[TrueBlueTerrier]

South London News

A MOTHER-of-four was killed by an articulated lorry as she crossed the road, an inquest heard.

Muserrat Hassan, 68, was hit by the Royal Mail vehicle as it moved off from a queue of traffic and died at the scene in South Wimbledon, Westminster Coroner's Court heard.

The inquest was told the driver could not see Mrs Hassan because of a blind spot on the lorry.

Mrs Hassan, of Griffiths Road, Wimbledon, had been shopping at Tesco Express in Merton Road before the tragedy happened at 9.50am on May 22 last year.

A camera on a bus behind the Royal Mail lorry - in the line of vehicles going towards South Wimbledon railway station -recorded Mrs Hassan walking along the pavement beside the truck and disappearing in front of it.

Collision investigator PC Peter Traylor from Hampton Traffic Garage, told the inquest: "She walks very slowly.

"She takes four seconds to move a metre-and-a-half. The driver's seat was a metre from the windscreen and there was 1.8 metres from the road to the windscreen.

"She could not be seen by the lorry driver."

The inquest heard that legislation came into force last January making it compulsory for new articulated lorries to have a forward vision mirror which gives drivers a clear view of the front of their vehicle.

Pedestrians Julian Khan and Elisabeth Neal witnessed the accident from the opposite pavement.

Mr Khan said: "I noticed she was quite small compared to the Royal Mail vehicle. I thought she was very close to it. When the vehicle in front started to move off, she turned towards the lorry and raised her arm.

"As it moved, she toppled. She just went under it. Both of us started shouting and waving at the driver. He was looking at the traffic ahead of him. He became aware of us and got out of the cab. He had not realised what had happened."

A passing ambulance was flagged down but nothing could be done for Mrs Hassan, who was trapped underneath the lorry.

The cause of her death was given as multiple injuries. No mechanical defects were found on the vehicle and no prosecution has been brought against driver Michael Ayling, who has a clean driving licence and nine years' experience of driving articulated lorries.

On the day of the incident he was travelling from Wembley to Croydon.

Mr Ayling said: "I didn't feel a thing. I only stopped because of the witnesses.

"I am so sorry for what has happened but I can't explain how she got there."

Recording a verdict of traumatic road death last Thursday, coroner Dr Shirley Radcliffe said: "It is a tragic episode." .

[andy2007]

Why isn't it compulsory to fit the extra mirror to all existing HGVs, rather than just new ones?
Compared to the running costs of such a vehicle, it's not going to be expensive is it?