The tragic death of a cyclist in central London during the morning rush hour has left family and friends in both Bahrain and the UK devastated and in deep shock.
British police have launched an investigation into the accident involving a heavy goods vehicle (HGV) which claimed the life of corporate lawyer Shatha Al Sahlawi.
“Prayers and condolences to her family and to all of Bahrain,” said a childhood friend who asked not to be named.
“The news reached me from Bahrain first and we grieve on both islands.”
There are plans to stage a protest and vigil today close to the scene outside Holborn Underground station by members of the London Cycling Campaign (LCC).
She is survived by her Bahraini parents, a younger brother and sister. She was single and lived in Rotherhithe.
Her family, who also live in London, said Ms Al Sahlawi was always willing to help others.
She was born in Bahrain and came to London with her family aged one, loved travelling and had a wide circle of friends.
Speaking to the Evening Standard, her family said that despite a highly successful career Ms Al Sahlawi was not defined by her job and had many interests outside of work.
“She did very well, extremely well, at work, but that was not the focus of her life,” they said.
“She was everybody’s ‘go to’ person. We always depended on her. She travelled to so many places. Last weekend she was hiking with her sister.”
Her family has been receiving hundreds of condolences online. Funeral arrangements have been delayed due to the ongoing investigation and pending autopsy.
Some of the heartfelt messages include:
‘Shatha was an exemplary role model for what Bahrainis can achieve growing up abroad’. ‘What a terrible loss, there must be safer places created on London’s roads for cyclists’ and ‘Her tragic death saddens me, frightens me and makes me angry’ in English …
• And, translated from Arabic: ‘RIP, I’m shattered and broken to hear this news’ and ‘God help the family to cope with this tragedy’.
The 38-year-old was cycling on Tuesday morning at Holborn Junction when the collision happened.
Ricardo Montes, 55, who was at the scene, said: “There was a collision. It was horrible. It will give me nightmares.”
A shop worker added: “I heard screams and people running towards someone on the ground who had come off their bike. It was horrific.”
Her bike lay in the middle of High Holborn while a police tent covered the spot where the fatally injured cyclist fell.
A London Ambulance Service spokesperson said: “We sent a paramedic in a fast response car and an incident response officer to the scene. We also dispatched London’s Air Ambulance. The first of our medics arrived in under five minutes. Sadly, a person died at the scene.”
Ms Al Sahlawi was the first cyclist to be killed in a London road accident in 2022 but the eighth cyclist death on this notoriously dangerous stretch of road since 2008.
“Specialist investigators are hoping to identify a potential key witness,” said a London Metropolitan Police statement.
Detectives from the Met’s Serious Collision Investigation Unit are investigating. The lorry driver stopped at the scene and has been interviewed by officers.
“This is an incredibly tragic incident and we are working hard to establish exactly what happened,” added Detective Sergeant Rebecca Collens, who is leading the investigation. “We are especially keen to speak to a woman who handed in the victim’s mobile phone after it fell to the floor during the collision. We also think she may have witnessed the collision itself.”
In addition to witness statements, the police are collecting CCTV and dashboard camera footage as part of their investigation.
According to her law firm, Ms Al Sahlawi was a distinguished solicitor who received her law degree in 2003 from King’s College London, and was promoted to the position of law firm partner in 2018.
Following the accident, London’s Walking and Cycling Commissioner Will Norman said long-term solutions for the area are impossible unless major project funds were secured, but pledged to consider short-term safety measures, according to a report in the Evening Standard.
The LCC, an independent organisation that aims to improve conditions for cyclists in the city, is far from impressed.
“We will be protesting – yet again – the continued lack of action to deal with road danger at this hazardous junction and others,” said an LCC statement. “The most recent, prior to this week’s sad death, was that of Dr Marta Krawiec last August.”
Following the paediatrician’s death last year, a total of 7,500 people signed a petition urging London Mayor Sadiq Khan to do something about London’s lack of cyclist safety.
Holborn junction was described by the LCC as a ‘tangle of high-speed and hostile one-way streets and lethal junctions’.
zainab@gdn.com.bh
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