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Road deaths die-in brings London traffic to a halt

LONDON cyclists brought Monday night traffic to a standstill as they marked the death of a popular physiotherapist by lying down on the road at the spot where she was killed.

Stephanie Turner, 29, is the 13th cyclist to die on Britain’s roads so far this year after being crushed by a lorry when turning left off north London’s busy Seven Sisters Road last week.

The lorry driver was arrested at the scene on suspicion of causing death by dangerous driving.

Ms Turner had got engaged last summer and her death came just months after her sister Claire Widdicombe died in childbirth.

Friends and family were too devastated to attend the vigil, but said in a statement they were “utterly devastated by the loss of Stephanie, our beautiful daughter; sister; fiance and friend.”

Stop Killing Cyclists, which organised the protest via social media, calls for Dutch-style segregated cycle lanes and a ban on dangerous lorries.

Campaign spokesman Tom Kearney told the sombre crowd: “As we quietly evoke Stephanie and silently rage against the wittingly-enforced conditions that caused her entirely preventable death, she’ll inspire us to keep on fighting for safer roads for all.

Accusing the London mayor of complacency, Mr Kearney added: “Boris, you can’t ignore us.”

Local cyclist Graham Freer told the Star: “It could have been me, it could have been any one of us. We need to start designing roads that protect cyclists and pedestrians.”

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