Duchess of Edinburgh prays for woman hit by her motorcade
The Duchess of Edinburgh has said her “heartfelt thoughts and prayers” are with an elderly woman who is fighting for life after being hit by her police motorcade.
The woman, who is in her 80s, is in a critical condition after she was “flung 40ft” by the police motorcycle escorting the Duchess through west London on Wednesday.
The Metropolitan Police said the outrider collided with a pedestrian at around 3.21pm on Wednesday at the junction of Cromwell Road and Warwick Road in west London.
The Duchess is not believed to have witnessed the incident and her own vehicle was not involved.
Buckingham Palace said in a statement: “The Duchess’s heartfelt thoughts and prayers are with the injured lady and her family.
“She is grateful for the swift response by the emergency services and will keep abreast of developments. Further comment at this time would not be appropriate while the incident is being investigated.”
The Duchess, patron of Wells Cathedral Chorister Trust, is likely to have been en route to Windsor Castle, where she attended Evensong, sung by the choristers of Wells Cathedral, at 5.15pm.
Paramedics from the London Ambulance Service and London’s Air Ambulance attended the scene, and the woman was taken to hospital.
Police said no other injuries were reported, inquiries into the crash were ongoing and that road closures remained in place.
The force said the Directorate of Professional Standards, which investigates officers’ conduct, has been informed as is routine.
One onlooker who saw the motorcade earlier on Wednesday said they thought it had no blue flashing lights.
The issue will form part of an investigation that has been launched by the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC), The Telegraph understands.
Witnesses claimed that black screens placed around a square brick electricity unit close to the crossing as part of attempts to “decorate” the area for the Coronation had impeded the view of oncoming traffic for pedestrians.
'An accident waiting to happen'
Martin Hennessy, 62, told MailOnline: “This was an accident waiting to happen. The screens had been put up for the coronation, but it meant that you had to step out a bit into the road to see any traffic.”
He added: “I was there soon after it happened and it was carnage. The poor lady was flung about 40ft along the road and paramedics were attending to her. She stepped out a bit to peer around the screens and was hit.
“There have been a lot of near misses there recently because of those screens but getting across that road is dangerous at the best of times because it's so busy.”
Multiple local residents revealed that they had complained to the local authority about the black screens, which were taken down following the crash.
Lucia Zanetton said: “These screens caused us a lot of problems because you couldn't see the traffic properly. A lot of accidents happen in this area because it is a very busy road.
“When you cross this road you are risking your life and these screens didn't help.”
Others said they saw the victim being given CPR in the road.
Debris could be seen strewn across the scene including a brown paper bag and other shopping including a face mask and what appeared to be a bottle of hand sanitizer.
Elsewhere, a shoe had a police marker placed next to it.
An IOPC spokesperson said: “Last night (May 10) we began an independent investigation after we were informed by the Metropolitan Police Service of an incident where a police motorcycle on escort duties collided with a woman on West Cromwell Road, Earls Court (SW5) around 3.21 pm yesterday afternoon.
“The woman, who is in her 80s, sustained serious injuries and was taken to hospital, where she remains in a critical condition. Last night we sent investigators to the scene and to the post incident procedures to begin gathering evidence. In due course we will be in touch with the woman’s family to express our sympathies and explain our role. Our investigation is at a very early stage.”
