Police trace lorry after cyclist killed in hit-and-run crash at London’s Battersea Bridge

Police in London have traced a lorry that was involved in a hit-and-run crash on London’s Battersea Bridge this morning in which a woman riding her bike was killed. The fatal collision comes 18 months after groups representing local residents demanded “immediate” action to make the bridge safer for vulnerable road users after a number of serious crashes there resulting in deaths or serious injuries.

(Update: Police have subsequently said in a statement released on 11 August 2023 that they have spoken to the driver of the lorry, adding: “He has not been arrested and inquiries continue”).

The fatal crash happened shortly before 8am today, with the victim reportedly riding her bike northbound over the bridge, which does not have cycle lanes.

Transport for London (TfL), which held a consultation running from last November to January this year on proposed safety measures at either end of the bridge, said in a report published in June that “Unfortunately, due to the physical constraints of this listed structure, it is not possible to provide cycle lanes on Battersea Bridge.

“The priority is to ensure cyclists can safely navigate the junctions as this is where collisions are most likely to occur,” the report added.

One witness to this morning’s crash, Richard Ollington, told the London Evening Standard: “A lady had fallen off her bike, she was on the floor.

“The bike had been ruined, the front wheel was bent and … it was clear that the situation wasn’t good.”

According to the newspaper, two men who had been travelling in a white van stopped at the scene to try and give assistance to the woman, prior to the arrival of the emergency services.

In February last year, five residents’ groups representing people living close to Battersea Bridge called for “immediate” action to make it safe for cyclists and pedestrians, warning that if nothing was done, more people would be killed or seriously injured there.

> “Immediate” action required to make Battersea bridge safe, amid fears that a lack of action will cause more deaths and injuries

The appeal came after a cyclist aged in her 30s sustained life-changing injuries following a crash involving a lorry, a year to the day after 29-year-old Jack Ryan was killed when he was struck by a driver as he was jogging near the northern end of the bridge.

The residents’ groups commissioned research which showed that in the five years to December 2020, 72 people, 31 of whom were cyclists, had been killed or injured in road traffic collisions in the area around the bridge.

“Local residents are therefore deeply concerned that fatalities and serious injuries will continue to occur at the Junction in the absence of adequate interventions,” they said.

“The junction performs extremely poorly with an average of over 12 injury collisions recorded each year of which on average two are killed or seriously injured (KSI) collisions.”

London Cycling Campaign (LCC) described this morning’s fatality as “devastating news” and called for “greater urgency” to be taken in making “known collision hotspots like this” safer for vulnerable road users.

Devastating news. Thoughts with friends & family of woman killed while cycling on Battersea Bridge

We need Vision Zero, eliminating the risk of being killed on London streets

Known collision hotspots like this need to be tackled with greater urgencyhttps://t.co/KrXLNW7Fho

— London Cycling Campaign (@London_Cycling) August 10, 2023

After fare revenues plummeted following the onset of the coronavirus pandemic, TfL had to rely on short-term bailouts from central government to be able to continue to provide its core services and as a result was forced to suspend its ongoing efforts to make London’s junctions safer.

In August 2021, LCC launched a petition urging TfL and Mayor of London Sadiq Khan to take action on dangerous junctions across the city, including at Battersea Bridge.

> London Cycling Campaign launches petition demanding action on capital’s lethal junctions

The petition was launched days after the death of Dr Marta Krawiec at Holborn Gyratory, one of a number of cyclists have lost their lives there in recent years in crashes involving lorries.

Referring to Dr Krawiec’s death, LCC said: “This time, as so many times across London, it was a woman cycling, hit by a large, turning lorry.

“Work on the most dangerous junctions in London had stalled even before the pandemic,” LCC said.

“During the pandemic we did have a glimpse of what a lower car London can look like; we did see rapid expansion of the cycle network; and we did get increasing awareness in government that active travel has a vital role to play in averting the climate crisis. But we have not seen substantive action on our most dangerous and lethal junctions.

“Junctions are where most serious and fatal collisions with those walking and cycling happen. They are the single biggest risk to lives, and the single biggest barrier to more people cycling and walking – particularly to those most put off by hostile road design such as children and parents.

“After yet another fatality at Holborn, yet another fatality at Battersea Bridge, multiple fatalities in less than a month in Havering on one road, we do not believe London can delay any more.

“We are calling on our leaders to reinstate the rapid rollout of safety improvements at every London junction where those walking and cycling lose their lives, with the most dangerous prioritised first.

“What TfL and DfT call ‘critical issues’ at junctions must be addressed to ensure that every arm of each junction is safe to cycle or walk through.

“That way these junctions will help realise the Mayor’s ‘Vision Zero’ plan for no fatal road collisions or serious injuries in London by 2041, rather than trash it,” LCC added.

In a statement issued following this morning’s fatal crash, the Metropolitan Police Service said: “Officers were called at 07:55hrs on Thursday, 10 August to Battersea Bridge, SW11.

“A collision was reported between a lorry and a cyclist.

“The cyclist, a woman, was found to be dead at the scene. Officers are working to inform her next of kin.

“Road closures are in place while emergency services deal.

“The lorry did not stop at the scene, but was subsequently located by officers in Fulham,” the statement added, although there was no mention of the driver.

Police have said that their enquiries are continuing, and have appealed for witnesses, or anyone else with information, to come forward, Officers can be contacted on 020 8543 5157 or via Twitter @MetCC, quoting CAD 1553/10Aug.

Alternatively, information can be given, anonymously, to the charity Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.

Two fire engines from Battersea and Chelsea fire stations, as well as a fire rescue unit, also rushed to the scene.

A spokesperson for London Fire Brigade said: “Firefighters were called to a road traffic collision on Battersea Bridge this morning.

“A lorry was in collision with a cyclist. Sadly, a woman was pronounced dead at the scene.

"The Brigade was called at 7.58am and the incident was over for firefighters by 8.15am,” the spokesperson added.