Lorry driver jailed over "highly dangerous manoeuvre" that killed cyclist at notorious junction and sparked safe streets protest

A lorry driver who was found guilty of causing death by dangerous driving in relation to a "highly dangerous manoeuvre" that resulted in the death of cyclist Dr Marta Krawiec has been jailed.

Kevin Allen had already admitted causing death by careless driving but was last month found guilty of the more serious causing death by dangerous driving offence, The Times reporting that he was sentenced to four years and nine months in prison by a judge at the Old Bailey yesterday.

The professional driver from Nottinghamshire, who has also been banned from driving for five years and ten months, was behind the wheel of a 16.5m HGV while on a job delivering to a building site at around 9am on 4 August 2021 when he committed a "highly dangerous manoeuvre" at Holborn gyratory.

The court heard Allen had failed to indicate before turning left at the central London junction, crushing Dr Krawiec as she cycled to work. The 69-year-old had positioned his lorry in the middle lane for traffic travelling straight on, but turned left and only began to indicate once he begun to move.

During the trial, jurors were told it had been a "bright, clear summer morning" and Dr Krawiec was wearing brightly coloured clothes and a helmet.

> "You must ensure that she is the last to die here": Colleagues of doctor killed while cycling to work demand "immediate action" from London mayor

Judge Richard Marks KC said this "tragic oversight" meant there was 49 seconds when Dr Krawiec was stopped waiting at the red light when Allen was not indicating his intention to turn left. The judge also acknowledged the gyratory was "problematic in its layout", protests and campaigning following Dr Krawiec's death prompting safety improvements and permanent road layout changes.

Eight cyclists were killed at the junction between 2008 and 2022, the London Cycling Campaign launching a petition in the aftermath of the final of those incidents calling for urgent safety action on the city's lethal junctions, including the "infamously hostile" Holborn gyratory, with works subsequently carried out a year later and more ongoing improvements underway too.

We're working closely with colleagues in @CamdenCouncil to improve the streets around Holborn.

Work to make the gyratory safer is underway right now. But we're also long at a wider transformation of the area.

Have your say on what you would like to see: https://t.co/uOUtFGj7JH

— Will Norman (@willnorman) February 19, 2024

Hundreds of people also attended a protest in August 2021, organised by Stop Killing Cyclists outside Camden Council's offices, to call for safer streets.

> Protesters demand urgent action on dangerous London junctions

In court, Dr Krawiec's partner, Raphael Basckin, explained how she had started cycling to work during lockdown as she believed it was the safest way to get to the children's hospital where she worked, and "she loved her bicycle".

A statement on behalf of her family was read by Mr Basckin: "In a mere second all Marta's dreams, plans and hopes were taken away from her."

He also told of the pain felt by medics who tried to save Dr Krawiec's life at the scene and who discovered her hospital identification card.

The court was also told that the lorry driver involved had an "unblemished" record since he started driving aged 21 and had been working as an HGV driver since 1989. The judge said he accepted that Allen was "full of remorse" and "haunted" by the death he had caused.

He said: "It is safe to say the junction was problematic in terms of its layout, the left hand lane was a bus lane and a vehicle of your size would not have been able to be in that lane without encroaching on the bus lane. Given the time of day, unsurprisingly there were other vehicles, as well as five other bicycles.

"You were not signalling your indication to turn left, this would have given all other road users time. Marta Krawiec was the last of the cyclists to pull up at the lights. Very clear evidence was to the effect that she would have been visible in two of your wing mirrors.

"I have no doubt Marta Krawiec was visible and not just momentarily but the fact you did not see her can only be explained either by you not checking your mirrors or even if you did not doing so adequately. When you are driving an HGV in a busy city centre, a combination of being in the middle lane and not indicating amounts to being very culpable driving."