Elderly pedestrian killed by double-decker bus on Oxford Street, on same day woman, 56, fatally struck by branch collapse at bus stop

The scene of the incident (@bagsy_8)

An elderly woman was killed by a passing bus as she attempted to cross the road outside Selfridges department store on Oxford Street.

The pedestrian, in her 70s, was struck by the double-decker bus at around 2.50pm yesterday, in front of horrified workers and shoppers, some of whom tried desperately to help her before the emergency services arrived.

Highly sensitive pictures were posted on social media sites of the incident, showing clear images of the woman being tended to by passer-bys and a huge crack in the bus’ front window.

Police and paramedics treated the woman at the scene, before taking her to St Mary’s Hospital where she later died.

Formal identification has yet to take place, though next of kin have been informed. The driver of the route 137 bus has not been arrested.

The collision happened on the same day that another woman, 56, was killed by a falling branch as she waited for a bus in north-west London.

The freak incident happened in Willesden Green, as a woman and her companion, in his 70s, were believed to be taking home two children from the nearby primary school.

Both of the children came out unscathed, while the elderly man is understood to have suffered serious injuries and is being treated in hospital.

The large and heavy branch fell from the tree, on Harlesden Road, at about 4pm as the woman sat on a short, brick wall below it.

Jacki Park, whose apartment looks over the bus stop, told the Evening Standard: “People ran out and they tried to lift the tree to free her. People from the health centre opposite rushed out and were trying to save her. I saw an elderly man shaking on the pavement.

“There was a little boy sitting on the wall and the branch was almost on top of him, just inches from his legs. I don’t know how it missed him. It’s a miracle.

“He was screaming and he couldn’t move. A man came and led him away. Another child, a little girl, was standing just down the pavement.

“A scooter was by [the woman’s] body. I think it belonged to the little boy.

“That’s my stop. I’d got off a bus just minutes before the tree fell. It could have been me. I’m so sorry for that lady.”

She was pronounced dead at the scene by paramedics, with police closing the road for a number of hours while investigations took place.