Terror attack bridge plunge woman dies
A WOMAN who plunged into the River Thames after a terrorist drove his car into pedestrians has died in hospital from injuries sustained in the attack.
Andreea Cristea, a 31-year-old architect, had her life support withdrawn on Thursday.
The Romanian tourist was struck as Muslim convert Khalid Masood ploughed through people on Westminster Bridge on March 22.
Footage of the atrocity showed Ms Cristea falling from the bridge into the water below.
Thrown
It is not clear if Ms Cristea leapt into the water to escape the attack or if she was thrown from the bridge after being struck by the vehicle.
She had been visiting London with boyfriend Andrei Burnaz who was due to propose to her later that day.
He suffered a broken foot in attack.
Mr Burnaz was later discharged from hospital and attended a vigil on Westminster Bridge last week.
He was pushed in a wheelchair to the scene of the attack where he the placed a single rose. After being rushed to hospital for treatment Ms Cristea was diagnosed with a blood clot on the brain and underwent surgery.
Her death brings the number of innocent victims of the attack to five.
In a statement, Mr Burnaz and Ms Cristea’s family said she would “always be remembered as our shining ray of light that will for ever keep on shining in our heart”.
It added: “After fighting for her life for over two weeks our beloved and irreplaceable Andreea – wonderful daughter, sister, partner, dedicated friend and the most unique and life-loving person you can imagine – was cruelly and brutally ripped away from our lives in the most heartless and spiritless way.”
They said the money raised to help fund her recovery would now be donated to charity, adding: “She would not have it any other way.
“There are no words to even begin to describe the crushing pain and emptiness that is left in our hearts.”
London mayor Sadiq Khan said he was “deeply saddened to hear of the death of Andreea Cristea”. He tweeted: “Londoners hold her and her loved ones in our thoughts today.”
Kurt Cochran, 54, an American tourist, Leslie Rhodes, a 75-year-old south London pensioner, and Aysha Frade, 44, a mother-of-two, also died after being struck on the bridge.
PC Keith Palmer, 48, an unarmed police officer, died from a single stab wound to the chest outside the Houses of Parliament before Masood, 52, was shot dead by armed police.
Fifty other people were injured in the atrocity.