Talented fashion student is 12th London cyclist killed this year
Felix Allen27.11.09
Family and friends have paid tribute to a promising fashion student who died after her bicycle was hit by a bus in central London.
Dorothy Elder, 23, was in an accident with a double decker in Holborn. After a series of operations, she lost her 11-day fight for life on Sunday.
Ms Elder was a student at Central Saint Martins college, studying womenswear design, and lived in Whitechapel. Her Facebook page has been flooded with messages from grieving friends.
Sophie Brearey wrote: "Dearest Dorothy, you were beautiful, kind, and amazingly talented. Forever you will remain in our hearts. Love you xxx"
Fellow fashion student Zoe Sherwood said: "Words can't express how sad I feel. St Martins is not the same without you! I will never forget your beautiful face, you were such a good friend and the most amazing model."
Dorothy's sister Natalie Elder wrote: "You joked about making a drama out of anything, the way you went was so shocking. We love you so much. xx"
She added: "It's also really comforting to see how many people love and respect her. Love to you all and thinking of you too. xx"
Ms Elder, who grew up in Devon, was fatally injured at 11pm on 11 November, three days before her 23rd birthday, when her bicycle was in a collision with a 98 bus at the junction of Southampton Row and Theobald's Road.
She was taken to the Royal London Hospital and was later transferred to St George's Hospital in Tooting. Natalie had kept Dorothy's friends updated on her condition on Facebook and dozens left messages.
The tragedy brings the toll of cyclists killed on the capital's roads to 12 this year. The Evening Standard's Safer Cycling Campaign is calling for greater protection for bike users in London.
Police appealed today for witnesses, including a black cab driver and his passengers who may have seen the accident, to call 020 7388 6806.
Reader views (22)
Even where I live you get drivers who take chances so they can squeeze past you, this is the Isle of Wight what's your hurry please drive sensibly. A beautiful girl, a tragic loss I pray you are safe and at peace.
- Dave, Isle of Wight
The road improvements have made this an even more dangerous junction for cyclists than it used to be. The roadway bewteeen the traffic island and the kerb is too narrow, and vehicles, not only buses, have to race to avoid being slowed down behind cycles.
- Patrick, Dalston
I have to agree with Yvonne. I regularly see cyclists cycling on busy pavements expecting elderly, infirm and the rest of us to move out of the way. I also see cyclists cycling through traffic through red lights and being risky and dangerous.
Cycling is the healthy alternative or should be and should be enjoyable for the cyclist and not impeding drivers or pedestrians.
This talented young woman has died because the roads are not safe for cyclists and so cycle paths need to be put in place. My disable friend was knocked down on the pavement by a cyclist who sped off.
Deepest condolences to the young lady's family and friends.
- Denny, england
Yes my condolences go out to the family and friends of Dorothy.My own daughter sometimes cycles to the Embankment to work, but has decided to lock up her bike now until the lighter days and evenings next year thank goodness. So much for reducing congestion on the roads, what may I ask ?? are these large lorries/vehicles doing on the roads in and around London and its environs during the day. Why cant they travel at night? and or weekends and leave the roads for hard working Londoners. Come on Boris think about it.... pleeese!!!
- Jane Goodridge, London England
Yvonne, thank you for your thoughtful comment, I'm sure Dorothy's loved ones will appreciate it.
- Chris, Devon, UK
Reduce all london traffic to 20mph and all cylists to wear high vis vests then at least the cyclists wiil have a chance of survival
- Kit Reed, koblenz germany
Seperate cycle lanes are the only solution.
Another tragic loss of life.
- Danny, London
Condolences. All points to Local Authorities and Tfl actually designing cycle facilities that work. I have commuted by bike in London for 15+ years and despair at the ineptitude and arrogance of those in charge of making our streets and roads safe for all. How long did it take to persuade the backward naysayers of the benefits of Oxford Circus pedestrian crossing?
- Nelly, The Wild East
Condolences to the family.
My concern is that the 98 bus runs now on a recently created contra flow bus lane at or near the junction reffered to.
I genuinely believe we are not given sufficient imformation/statistics on contra flow bus lane accidents.
- Frank H., London
Very sad news, condolences to friends and family.
Bicycle lanes in the capital are simply a joke. There are so many lunatics on the road that it is simply not safe to share the same space. By the way I am now a motorist and do not cycle for these same saftety reasons.
We really should take a close look at how the Dutch do things - I was in Amsterdam recently and it really is striking how well organised the shared space is.
Motorists respect cyclists and cyclists respect pedestrians. There are dedicated light controlled junction crossings with a countdown so you know exactly how long you have to wait whether you be cyclist or pedestrian.
In Amsterdam, the motorist is not King. In fact no one road user has priority - it is after all shared space.
It is very sad that Boris has slashed the cycling budget and unless we have a radical overhaul of our cycling lane infrastructure and an associated shift in priorities then tragic accidents like this will surely become more and more common.
- Scrutiniser, London
Until proper bike lanes are built, off the main roads and also off the pedestrian pavements, cyclists should not be encouraged to cycle. It is dangerous and you will eventually have a bad accident if you continue to cycle on main roads.
- Yvonne, Doncaster, UK
She's in a safer place now, I hope that something can be done about this. It is so tragic to lose a dear friend and loved one.. I cannot comprehend how all the people who knew her must be feeling.. My condolences. To all the cyclists, please be extra careful, especially at night. Wear a helmet and a reflective jacket, hopefully improvements can be made with the system and make cycling safer in London, as i'm sure there are some people out there that want to help with reducing pollution in London by cycling instead and not be frightened by it. So the safety of cyclists should be prioritized!
- Ralph, London
My thoughts and prayers go out to her family & loved ones but sadly this will happen over and over again. If our good friend Boris gets his way there will be a huge amount of more cyclists on our roads and really the only way to avoid these accidents are for them to have training you would not believe some of the things I see when I travel back and forwards to my office when I am on the bus. I admit there is a lot of bad driving from Buses etc but better road manners need to happen on both sides if we are to avoid this carnage.
- Linda Cliff, London
Another death between a woman and a large vehicle. Although a personal tradgedy, a pattern has evolved whereby it most cyclist deaths are between women and large vehicles.
What a waste.
- George, London
Yet another sad tale of chaos and confusion.
For drivers and cyclists to share the road, they need to know exactly where they stand.
If they gave each other at least a metre when passing, there would never be another collision.
- Idavid, London, UK
Sincerest sympathy. - Surely this must question the safety of encouraging cycling on busy city streets?
- Huggy, Cumbernauld Scotland
So sad she lost her fight.
Thoughts are with family and friends.
Be safe
- Pip, London
This sad event does seem to confirm the theory that cyclists are most at risk from buses, whether bendy or not, and lorries. That does rather suggest that the current policy of putting cycle lanes next to bus lanes and often in the same roadspace as lorries use is foolish and leading to accidents and fatalities. It needs to be rethought, perhaps along the Dutch model where cyclists are separated from road traffic almost entirely, although there they are themselves a threat to pedestrians.
- Matt, London, UK
Southampton Row and Theobald's Road was the site of another fatal bike accident earlier this year. Certainly seems like an intersection for cyclists to avoid!
- Phil Jones, London EU
This is so very sad.
At some point, we have to come up with a way of making the safety of cyclists more paramount.
- Charles, Kennington
Please add my condolences to Dorothy's family and friends as well. A tragic loss of life.
- Nowan, London
My condolences to Dorothy's family and friends.
- Dc, London
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