The teenage cyclist who killed a mother of two
MOTHER-OF-TWO Kim Briggs was killed by 18-year-old cyclist Charlie Alliston in east London in 2016.
Alliston, who hit Mrs Briggs, , as she crossed a road, was jailed for only 18 months because a legal equivalent of death by dangerous driving for cyclists did not exist.
Her campaigning husband Matthew said he had received backing from politicians for a law change, but added: ‘I think Covid and Brexit has got in the way of anything happening and I’m so glad Grant Shapps has gripped this.
‘This is a gap in the law that needs to be closed. The more people cycle, these things will happen, and in a modern, civilised society there should be laws to cope with everything.’
In a second case, Peter McCombie, 72, died of head injuries after being hit by cyclist Ermir Loka, 23, as he walked home from work in east London in July 2020.
CCTV footage showed Mr McCombie stop on a central island in the road, waiting for a green pedestrian light. Another cyclist narrowly avoided him before Loka ran a red light and hit him.
After the crash, Loka, an Albanian who had entered the country illegally, rode off. He was found not guilty of manslaughter and jailed for two years for causing bodily harm by ‘wanton or furious driving’.
A third incident involved retired teacher Jane Stone, who was left for dead after being hit by cyclist Stewart McGinn, 29.
The 79-year-old was hit by McGinn as she waited to cross a road near her home in Monmouth, South Wales.
Instead of stopping, he got back on his bike and sped off. Mrs Stone died of serious head injuries in hospital after the crash on June 7. McGinn was jailed for 12 months after pleading guilty to ‘wanton or furious driving’.