Woman on electric scooter killed in crash with lorry on London street
Police investigating rush hour collision at Battersea roundabout
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Your support makes all the difference.A woman has died after being struck by a lorry while riding an electric scooter at a roundabout in south-west London, police have said.
The victim, in her 30s, was pronounced dead at the scene following the crash at Queen’s Circus in Battersea shortly after 8.30am on Friday.
Several roads in the area were closed off while the rush hour collision was investigated, including Chelsea Bridge and Nine Elms Lane.
A Metropolitan Police spokeswoman said the woman’s next of kin are yet to be informed, and no arrests have been made.
A London Ambulance Service spokeswoman said the first medics had arrived at the scene in under four minutes.
“Sadly, despite the extensive efforts of medics, a woman died at the scene,” she said.
It is illegal to ride scooters with electric motors on public roads and pavements in the UK, and the crash prompted a warning from the Department of Transport (DfT) that e-scooter retailers should tell customers about the ban.
The vehicles can exceed 30mph and are increasingly being used for short journeys in a number of countries, including in many European cities and the US.
In the UK they can only be legally used on private land, but this policy could yet be reversed as the DfT is carrying out a review of legislation to accommodate changes in the way people get around.
A spokeswoman for the department said: “We extend our deepest sympathies to all those involved in this tragic incident, and fully support the police as they carry out their investigations.”
She added: “Safety is at the heart of all our road laws and it is important that retailers continue to remind people at the point of sale that it is illegal to ride e-scooters on public roads.”
Transport for London and Wandsworth Council redesigned Queen’s Circus roundabout in 2015.
The overhaul trialled the use of raised kerbs and separate traffic lights to keep cyclists and vehicles segregated at junctions, but concerns were raised that the new layout was too complicated.
A cyclist was killed at the same roundabout in July last year after being hit by a bin lorry.
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