A man today told of his desperate bid to save a female cyclist's life after a fatal pile-up in a London commuter town.
A woman in her 50s died in the collision involving a car, a van and a tanker lorry in Walton-on-Thames on Thursday morning.
Police said a van driver was arrested after the crash at around 6.40am.
Witness Alan Beeneyworth, 43, a manager at a building design firm, told the Standard how he battled to save the woman’s life.
He said: “I saw it all. It’s haunting me. I heard a bang and the woman was thrown from the bike into the bushes. The bike landed at my feet. It was a mess.
“He then swerved off and smashed into the truck and span to the other side of the road. It was then he hit the other car.
“She was never conscious. I held her head in my arms as the paramedic worked on her. She was dying. It was horrible.”
Supermarket worker Muhammad Haque, 30, drove past soon after and said he saw a “nightmare” scene with the van driver slumped at the wheel bleeding from his head, with its windshield “completely smashed”.
The van driver was taken by ambulance to St George’s Hospital, Tooting, with injuries believed to be serious after being freed from the wreckage by firefighters. Surrey police appealed for witnesses.
A spokesman said: “A 34-year-old man from Walton-on-Thames has been arrested on suspicion of causing death by dangerous driving, driving whilst disqualified and driving with no insurance. I can confirm it is the van driver who has been arrested. He remains in custody at this time.”
