Driver ‘neglect’ crushed artist
Court told man did not use wing mirrors properly at roundabout
A LORRY driver who crushed a renowned Scots art designer to death failed to use his wing mirrors properly to see her, a court has heard.
James Kwatia would have been able to see cyclist Moira Gemmill for up to eight seconds but was too focused on traffic in front of him, the Old Bailey was told.
Ms Gemmill, 55, was on her way to St James’s Palace when she was struck by the tipper lorry near Lambeth Bridge, Westminster, on April 9, 2015.
Harrowing footage played to jurors showed the moment Mr Kwatia’s lorry pulled away from the bridge on to a roundabout, crushing Ms Gemmill beneath its wheels and killing her instanteously.
Opening Mr Kwatia’s trial, prosecutor Mark Gadsden said the 43-year-old had paid insufficient attention to cyclists as he reached the end of the bridge. He also told the court Mr Kwatia had positioned his lorry towards the centre of two lanes on the bridge, but as he approached the roundabout he pulled across to his left, leaving no room for Ms Gemmill as she passed by on his near side.
The jury heard Mr Kwatia had been too preoccupied with traffic on the roundabout to see her, running over her as he accelerated away.
Ms Gemmill was born in Campbeltown, Argyll, and studied graphic design and photography at Glasgow School of Art. She had just started a new job as director of capital programmes at the Royal Collection Trust, working on projects at Windsor Castle and Holyrood Palace in Edinburgh.
Mr Gadsden told jurors Mr Kwatia would have been able to see Ms Gemmill in his mirrors for about eight seconds as he crossed the bridge, and that he should have been aware of her presence and remained straddling the two lanes to give her room.
He said: “Ms Gemmill would have been visible to him in his nearside mirrors as she was coming up on the near side. If he remained in that position this accident never would have occurred.
“We say it was his driving that was the causation of the accident and the death.”
Ms Gemmill, who also worked for many years at Aberdeen Art Gallery, crossed Lambeth Bridge from the east side, riding in the cycle lane with another cyclist behind her. But jurors were told the cycle lane comes to an end near the roundabout, and footage showed her passing Mr Kwatia’s lorry to the nearside as they both approached the junction.
The prosecutor said while a witness had claimed Mr Kwatia was preoccupied with traffic on the roundabout, when asked after the incident he said he was aware of the cyclists around him.
Mr Kwatia, from London, denies causing death by careless driving. The trial continues.