The mother of a cyclist who was crushed to death by a lorry in Camden Town said she “doesn’t believe in justice anymore” after the case against the driver was dropped.
Student Paula Jurek, 20, died after her bike collided with a large tipper trick on April 5, 2011 as it was turning left from Camden Road onto St Pancras Way.
A charge of careless driving against the lorry’s driver, Barry Roe, was dropped in March.
At an inquest into her death at St Pancras Coroner’s Court today, her mother Iwona Jurek said: “I don’t believe in justice anymore.”
She told the court that her Polish daughter, a student at London Metropolitan University in Holloway, was an experienced cyclist who cycled regularly to university.
Mrs Jurek added that Paula was a “caring” and “intelligent” woman who dreamed of travelling the world.
She said: “I wish that she was still alive. She had so many dreams.”
Under questioning from deputy coroner Selina Lynch, Mr Roe confirmed that he had checked his wing mirrors but had not seen the student. It was suggested that she was riding alongside the lorry in the driver’s blind spot.
Witness Romain Lamamy told the inquest he was driving in front of the lorry on his scooter when he saw the vehicle collide with Paula, who lived in South Tottenham.
Mr Lamamy said: “Everything seemed to happen in slow motion.
“It appeared that the lorry touched her because she wobbled. She then fell off the bike onto the road and under the front wheels. I could see her skin was exposed so I knew she was badly injured.”
Collision investigator Paul Deneys told the court that one of the lorry’s indicator lights was not working, which would have told Ms Jurek that the lorry was turning left.
Mr Roe said that during his morning checks of the vehicle, the lights were functioning as normal.
The collision investigator found that the light’s fault was intermittent and could have been working when the driver made the checks.
The coroner made no conclusions regarding the indicator light. She returned a verdict of road traffic collision, with the cause of death being multiple injuries.
She said: “I am sorry for the family’s loss and that it has taken so long to come to this conclusion.”
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