Driver held as runaway van kills woman tourist

Police have launched an investigation after a woman was crushed to death by a runaway delivery van in front of lunchtime City workers.

The victim, in her early twenties, was killed when the van rolled down a hill and pinned her against a bollard.

Police are investigating whether the driver of the vehicle failed to apply his handbrake properly after parking in Pudding Lane in the City on Friday.

The 51-year-old driver has been arrested on suspicion of manslaughter over the accident, which also left another pedestrian seriously injured.

Witnesses told how paramedics and passers-by tried to free the woman, a German citizen who has not been named yet, from under the vehicle following the collision at about 1.20pm.

The driver is believed to have stopped at the top of the sloping road to make a delivery. Witnesses said the van rolled forward after he left the vehicle.

Office worker Sarah Jones, 22, said: "Half a dozen police came running past me and when I got up there I saw a young girl in her twenties slumped on the ground. Her legs were all smashed in and there was blood everywhere.

"She was very petite and smartly dressed and she had an engagement or a wedding ring on her finger.

"The front left side of the van was smashed in so it must have been a pretty hard impact."

Another witness, who did not wish to be named, said: "I heard a loud scream and when I looked round there was a woman squashed against a bollard by the van. She was screaming out in agony and there were 15 or 20 people all trying to push it off her."

The woman was pronounced dead at the scene. The male pedestrian was taken to Royal London Hospital with serious injuries.

City of London Police said the German authorities are trying to inform the woman's next of kin. Witnesses should contact the investigation team on 020 7601 2222.