Cyclist dies in lorry crash
 | | Harriet Tory: dies after her bicycle collided with a lorry at the ""very dangerous junction |
A WOMAN cyclist was killed in a horror smash with a lorry at a notoriously dangerous junction.
Harriet Tory, 37, died in the Friday morning rush-hour after she collided with a Brewsters waste management truck at the junction of Clerkenwell Road and St John Street in Finsbury.
 | | Floral tributes left at traffic lights by the spot where Harriet was fatally injured |
Ambulances were called but Ms Tory was pronounced dead at the scene.
She was just yards from the offices of Arete independent brokers in St John's Lane, Finsbury, where she worked as chief operating officer.
There have been at least three serious accidents at the junction, all involving cyclists, in the last month.
Islington South and Finsbury MP Emily Thornberry, herself a keen cyclist, said: "I use that road myself a lot. It is dreadful this has happened and is an absolute tragedy.
"An increasing number of people are cycling and on the whole drivers aren't as aware of cyclists as they should be."
Clive Martin, the manager of Stirling Ackroyd estate agents, which is based on the junction, added: "This is a very dangerous junction. I can't believe there are not more accidents here."
Ms Tory, who lived in Shepherdess Walk, Islington, worked at Goldman Sachs investment bank in the 1990s before she and Richard Kramer founded Arete together in 2000.
Mr Kramer said: "Harriet was one of the most selfless, dedicated and fantastic people.
"She was like a big sister to everyone at Arete and was the heart and soul of the company. It would not exist were it not for her perseverance, dedication, boundless energy and fantastic spirit.
"She did a lot of work for charity and had hundreds of friends. She was a gem of a person and a tireless worker.
"She was incredibly active and did yoga, cycling, hiking and all sorts of outdoor pursuits but was also a pianist, violinist and dancer. She was a completely phenomenal person and was living an incredibly full life.
"We are all shocked and devastated that someone so incredibly full of life was just suddenly taken away from us one morning. We all miss her terribly. Our thoughts and prayers are with her family."
In a joint statement, Ms Tory's family, who live in Dorset, said: "Everybody is devastated.
"She was loved, adored and respected by so many and will be greatly missed not just by us but by all her friends she had in the country as well as her friends in London. Harriet had thousands of friends.
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