Stoke Newington woman killed after skip truck hit her at 2mph, and tore her heart in two
Poplar Coroner's Court - Credit: Archant
A woman died after being run over at just 2mph, with the 18 tonne skip lorry tearing her heart in two.
Mehrunnisha Balesaria died after walking in front of the lorry trying to cross Stoke Newington High Street, but the height of the truck made it “impossible” for the driver to see her, a court ruled this week.
Ms Balesaria, 65, died instantly during the incident on January 11, after suffering massive head trauma and severe injuries to her thigh, chest, arms and abdomen.
The judge at Poplar Coroner’s Court said that there had been “two victims of this accident”, both Ms Balesaria and the lorry driver- who he feared would have “nightmares” about the tragic incident.
The driver, a Romanian national, did not see the widow until he got out of the lorry and saw her lying under it, being attended to by members of the public who were attempting to revive her.
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He said he was “in shock” put called an ambulance and moved the lorry to the side of the road, at the junction between Stoke Newington Church street and Evering Road.
The judge ruled that Ms Balesaria, who was out shopping and was local to Stoke Newington, crossed the road in a “inappropriate place”. As the traffic lights turned red, the skip truck began to pull off and only realised it had hit someone when the driver behind started flashing his lights and beeping his horn.
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Thanks to the lorry’s design, and 5’6” Ms Balesaria’s height, the driver “had no chance at all” of spotting her, the court heard.
The lorry was a 2005 model, meaning it does not have to comply with 2006 regulations which intend to get rid of dangerous blind spots.
The court found the cause of death to be an accident, and thanked the police for a “very detailed investigation.”
