Ying Tao inquest: police asked to reconsider lorry driver prosecution

Following the inquest into the death of Ying Tao, who was killed in a collision with a lorry while cycling at Bank Junction last June, Leigh Day, the solicitors representing the family of Ms Tao, have announced they will be asking the City of London police to review their decision not to bring criminal charges against the lorry driver who was driving the tipper truck which collided with Tao.

The solicitors have also confirmed they will be making a formal complaint regarding the police evidence given at the inquest, which Ms Moore, the head of the personal injury team, described as appearing to be ‘a clear case of victim-blaming’.

An LCC representative attended the inquest and heard that the lorry’s driver, Lee Williams, indicated less than two seconds before pulling away from the traffic lights on Princes Street. The truck’s audible warning system indicating a left turn, which might have alerted Tao, was broken. Tao’s rear wheel was hit by the lorry as it turned left across her path. She was then pulled under the wheels and died at the scene.

In a web update Sally Moore of the solicitors Leigh Day, who are representing the family of Tao, 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.”

Leigh Day also reported that: “The City Police collision investigator PC Tim Harryman told the Court that Ms Tao was in 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 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.”

However, PC Harryman did appear to acknowledge during the inquest that the driver would have been able to see Tao at the junction, when she was stationary alongside him and before he started turning.

Ms Moore confirmed the intent to make a formal complaint: “We will also be making a formal complaint about what appears to be a clear case of victim-blaming."

LCC believes such fatalities underline the need for urgent action.