Protestors to stage 'die-in' after male cyclist died in hospital following a collision in Islington

Stop Killing Cyclists: A 'die-in' vigil in Camden last year
Tom Kearney
Ella Wills31 October 2017

Protestors are set to stage a “die-in” after a City trader died following a collision while cycling in Islington.

Jerome Roussel, 51, died in hospital on June 25, seven weeks after a cycling accident on his morning commute on Pentonville Road, on May 2.

Organised by London group Stop Killing Cyclists, the protestors plan to hold a vigil for the man during an inquest into his death, in addition to campaigning for better road safety.

They are expected to gather on Upper Street, outside Islington Town Hall, on Wednesday, November 8.

Mr Roussel is believed to have suffered head and neck injuries in a collision with a lorry. The Met said it was investigating the incident and there had been no arrests.

The inquest is due to be held on November 8.

Campaigners are protesting protected cycling infrastructure in Islington. They are also seeking the Transport Minister Jesse Norman to allow TfL to fine HGVs and traffic that drive into mandatory cycle lanes.

Stop Killing Cyclists co-founder Donnachadh McCarthy said: “Islington desperately needs a protected cycling network to allow its children, adults and pensioners to be able to cycle in the borough, without fear of death."

He welcomed Mayor of London Sadiq Khan’s proposals to remove the most dangerous lorries from the capital’s roads by 2020, but urged the Mayor to require all HGVs to have CCTV.

“No lethal trucks should be blindly driven on London’s streets. This carnage needs to end,” he said.

Islington Council said they are committed to making cycling as safe and easy as possible for constituents, and working with the Mayor and TfL to deliver better cycle routes in the borough, including cycle super-highways where segregated cycle tracks are being implemented.

Next month work begins on construction of the last section of the North-South Cycle Superhighway, which runs through Islington, which includes segregated cycling on Farringdon Road up to Farringdon Station.

Claudia Webbe, Islington Council’s executive member for the environment and transport, said: “I am extremely saddened by the death of yet another cyclist in London, and our thoughts are with the family and friends of Jerome Roussel.

“We are challenging the Mayor of London to tackle the safety concerns on Transport for London’s roads such as Pentonville Road (where the accident occurred), where the council does not have the authority to make changes. A good start would be for TfL to also make its roads 20mph, as the council has already done on its own roads.

“We are actively working with Transport for London to introduce safer cycling routes on quieter roads – avoiding known accident hotspots and sensitive junctions.

“In recent years we have done a great deal to improve cycle safety and continue to do so, from being the first borough in London to introduce 20mph limits on our roads, to campaigning for the removal of dangerous gyratories at Archway, Old Street, Highbury Corner, King’s Cross and Nags Head. Work to transform Archway from a traffic dominated area to a safer place for cyclists and pedestrians alike has now been completed."

The vigil and ‘die-in’ protest is scheduled to begin at 5.30pm.

Create a FREE account to continue reading

eros

Registration is a free and easy way to support our journalism.

Join our community where you can: comment on stories; sign up to newsletters; enter competitions and access content on our app.

Your email address

Must be at least 6 characters, include an upper and lower case character and a number

You must be at least 18 years old to create an account

* Required fields

Already have an account? SIGN IN

By clicking Create Account you confirm that your data has been entered correctly and you have read and agree to our Terms of use , Cookie policy and Privacy policy .

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged in