Moira Gemmill: Lorry driver acquitted over cyclist killed in London road accident

Designer cycling to work when she was struck by Mercedes tipper truck near Lambeth Bridge on April 9 2015

Moira Gemmill (PA)

A lorry driver has been acquitted of killing a renowned art designer by his careless driving.

Moira Gemmill, 55, was cycling to work at St James's Palace when she was struck by a Mercedes tipper lorry near Lambeth Bridge in Westminster on April 9 2015.

Harrowing footage played to jurors showed the moment the lorry, driven by James Kwatia, pulled away from the bridge on to a roundabout approaching Horseferry Road, crushing Ms Gemmill beneath its wheels.

James Kwatia (PA)

Off-duty police and paramedics tried to save her, but Ms Gemmill was declared dead at the scene.

Prosecutor Mark Gadsden alleged the 43-year-old driver had failed to use his mirrors properly and paid insufficient attention to cyclists as he reached the end of the bridge.

But Kwatia, from Catford, south east London, denied causing death by careless driving and was found not guilty by a jury at the Old Bailey on Friday.

Ms Gemmill, who formerly worked at the Victoria and Albert Museum, 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.

PA