Police killed my mum
Son’s anger as woman, 81, who was hit by Sophie’s motorcade dies
THE grieving son of a great-grandmother who died after she was struck by a motorbike escorting the Duchess of Edinburgh has accused police of ‘killing my mum’.
Martin Holland said his mother Helen, 81, had bravely fought for her life for two weeks but succumbed to brain damage on Tuesday.
Mrs Holland was using a pedestrian crossing in Earl’s Court, west London, on May 10 when she was hit by the police motorbike.
The duchess, 58, was said to be ‘deeply saddened’ by the news of her death. A furious Mr Holland, 57, said: ‘Police killed my mum.
‘We are very angry that someone so pure and kind was caught up in such a violent and inescapable situation. We assume the killer is still on the loose... riding a police motorcycle and we fear now for the safety of others. They must be answerable to the law.’
His statement added: ‘Ordinary people should not be expendable to protect the chosen few. They need to change the way they go about these escorting duties.
‘Locals dislike the way they whistle and shout out for people to get out of the way and, of course, this warning can’t be heard at high speed anyway.’
Mrs Holland’s injuries included ‘multiple broken bones and massive internal injuries’, according to her family.
Buckingham Palace said: ‘ Her Royal Highness’s deepest condolences and sympathies go to all of Mrs Holland’s family.’
It is understood that Sophie, who was leaving a garden party at Buckingham Palace when the accident happened, will be in touch with the family privately.
Mrs Holland, of Birchanger, Essex, had been in London visiting her sister when she was hit by the motorbike and thrown 40ft along the road.
Witnesses said she had stepped into the street to peer around black screens shielding a junction box that had been put up for the
‘Accident waiting to happen’
Coronation. One described visibility problems with the screens as ‘an accident waiting to happen’.
Mrs Holland, a mother of four, grandmother of ten and great-grandmother of seven, was taken to an intensive care unit where her family said she had been in a coma.
The Independent Office for Police Conduct is investigating.
The Metropolitan Police said: ‘We have written to Mrs Holland’s family representative to express our sympathies and to assure him of our co- operation with the IOPC investigation.’
A spokesman added the officer involved in the collision was ‘currently in a non-public facing role’.
Regarding concerns about ‘whistles and shouts’ to warn of police escorts approaching, the spokesman said whistles were recommended by the College of Policing and ‘the sound is less common than a siren and the direction of the sound is far easier to detect’.