Devastated parents pay tribute to daughter killed in crash - as cyclists stage 'die in' protest

Physiotherapist died in crash months after her sister died during childbirth
Street protest: Cyclists at a die-in last night in north London Picture: Nigel Howard
Nigel Howard
Matt Watts28 January 2015

The family of a cyclist killed in a crash with a lorry today paid tribute to her “effervescent and infectious spirit” as the London cycling community she treasured staged a “die in” protest in her memory.

Physiotherapist Stephanie Turner, 29, was killed two miles from her home when she was hit by an HGV as she turned left into Amhurst Park off the Seven Sisters Road in Stamford Hill on Tuesday last week.

The university graduate was killed four months after her sister Clair Widdicombe, a 38-year-old primary school teacher, died giving birth last September.

Her family, including parents Steve and Linda, sister Suzy and fiancé Ian, today released a statement saying: “We are utterly devastated by the loss of Stephanie, our beautiful daughter, sister, fiancee and friend.

Crash death: Stephanie Turner, 29

“Trying to find words with which to describe her is such a difficult task as the kind of person Steph was seems to defy definition.

“She ran marathons and climbed mountains. She was the life and soul of every party and lit up every room she entered. She was hugely admired by so many people for so many different reasons.”

“Steph was an experienced cyclist and accomplished athlete who everyday not only cycled to work but also to see her patients in and around central London.

“To Steph, cycling was much more than a means of commuting: it brought her real excitement and satisfaction and allowed her to feel truly connected to London, the city she had come to love and live for.

Mourners leave tributes at the scene last night Picture: Nigel Howard

“She regularly spoke of her feeling of connection to London’s cycling community, who we know will be left reeling by this tragic incident on such a widely used cycle route.”

They added: “Steph’s spirit was effervescent and absolutely infectious. Her open and outgoing personality drew people instinctively to her.

“Stephanie was mercurial. She was one in a million. She was, as a close friend said, a pea from her very own pod. A huge hole has been left in our lives.”

They also gave their support for a protest last night by campaign group Stop Killing Cyclists at the spot where she was killed.

Fellow cyclists left a banner which read 'stop the killing' Picture: Nigel Howard

More than 200 cyclists paid their respects at a vigil for Miss Turner, who worked as part of the Community Independence Service at the Central London Community Healthcare NHS Trust.

They stopped traffic as they lay in Amhurst Park for a two minute “die in” protest to call for safer roads inspired by similar tactics used in Holland to push for investment in safe transport infrastructure. They demanded Boris Johnson, TfL and local councils invest in a safer cycle network, including more segregated cycle lanes.

Tom Kearney, from the campaign said: “It was an entirely preventable death. It will inspire us to keep fighting for safer roads.”

Nicola Branch, 49, said: “This is a notoriously dangerous junction and here as well as across London more needs to be done to prevent tragic deaths such as Stephanie’s.”

Miss Turner is the first person to die cycling on London’s roads this year, and the thirteenth in the UK.

Councillor Feryal Demiric, from Hackney Council, who is responsible for cycling in the borough, said the council was currently looking at cycle safety improvements along the Seven Sisters Road, including a remodelling of the junction where Miss Turner was killed.

She said among the other improvements planned along Seven Sisters was a narrowing of the road and an enforcement of a 20mph speed limit. She said the Hackney Cycle Campaign Group were involved in drawing up the proposals.

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