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| Cyclist: Giovanna Cappiello |
A brilliant award-winning interior design student cyclist was crushed to death under the wheels of a 32-tonne cement mixer lorry when the driver failed to spot her, a court heard yesterday.
Italian Giovanna Cappiello, 29, was just two weeks from graduating her foundation degree course at the University of the Arts, Chelsea when she died on July 4, 2019.
Construction company boss Stephen Hempenstall, 52, of Thornhill Road, Ickenham, Uxbridge has pleaded not guilty to causing her death by careless driving.
Prosecutor Mr Hamish Common told the jury: “The prosecution case is that Miss Capiello was there to be seen, however Mr Hempenstall did not look properly and use the visual aids, for example mirrors and lens, available to him before turning.
“The prosecution say he was careless, was driving distracted and did not make the proper checks.
“He was earlier driving in a clearly distracted state and Mr Hempenstall did not look left at all in the run up to that left turn and did not respond to his side scan warning system.”
Inner London Crown Court heard the tragedy occurred at 3.10pm at the junction of Wandsworth Road and Silverthorne Road, south-west London as Bologna-born Miss Cappiello rode her purple Carrera pedal bike.
Miss Cappiello, - known as ‘Gio’ - the first student on her course to achieve A+ grades in both theory and practice, was run over as the LGV Mercedes Arco cement lorry turned left at traffic lights.
A winner that year of the Chartered Society of Designers student award Miss Cappiello - the daughter of an Italian State Police Chief Inspector - also worked at the five-star Berkeley Hotel, Belgravia and was dating fellow-Italian Daniel Caseri.
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| Denies Charge: Stephen Hempenstall |
Mr Common said: “The lorry arrived a the traffic lights first and stopped and Miss Capiello cycled past the nearside of other stationary traffic until the lights turned green.
“As the lorry moved away Miss Capiello caught and began to pass the lorry on its left. As Miss Capiello drew alongside the cab area of the lorry Mr Hempenstall turned left across her and runs her over.
“The lorry was in the middle of a steep turn left at the point of the collision when Miss Capiello and her bicycle went under the front of the lorry.”
A London Air Ambulance arrived at 3.22pm, but tragically Miss Capiello had suffered a serious straight-line injury across her chest and abdomen.
A post mortem gave the cause of death as multiple injuries.
Horrified witnesses saw the tragedy unfold at the busy junction and van delivery driver Martin Butcher told police: “The cyclist was about half way along the lorry when it began to turn and the lorry collided with the cyclist.”
Motorist Elizabeth de Rougemont said: “I could see the accident was going to happen.”
Matthew Claridge said he was first alerted to shouts of “stop.” “I could see the lady under the wheels of the moving lorry. She was tumbling in the wheels and then the second one went over her.”
He approached and heard no music from her EarPod. “Her bike was lying behind her in the road and it was completely destroyed.”
Motorist Scott Martin recalled: “Unfortunately I saw everything from start to finish. “I was like: ’No, no, no,’ as the truck started creeping in and the cyclist is trying to get away.
“It comes around and she clips it just a bit back from the cab and I am screaming at the f***ing driver: ‘F***ing stop, stop, stop.’
“He is doing the manoeuvre at walking pace, but she never came into the zone where he could see her. This is all at 5mph, maybe 2mph.
“She looked at me as she went under the thing. I saw it drive over her,” added thew witness, who said he did hear music coming from the cyclist’s EarPod.
Hempenstall had just left the Battersea Concrete Plant in Silverthorne Road after reloading with ready mix concrete and his cab’s own CCTV shows him preoccupied with some paperwork in the moments before the tragedy.
“Mr Hempenstall was holding some paper in his right hand whilst he was driving. A short time after the start of the journey he unfolded the paper and seems to have been reading it while he was driving along,” explained the prosecutor.
“He then folded the sheet of paper, but continued to hold it in his right hand and on several occasions shuffled it from his right to left hand and back again.
“His mouth was also moving and it appears as if he was talking or singing.
“While driving he was holding a piece of paper in his right-hand side and steering and at one point put his seatbelt on.
“Mr Hempenstall folded the piece of paper and was holding it in his left hand and he waved at another driver.”
At the traffic lights the defendant indicated left, triggering a speaker on Ms Cappiello’s side, announcing: “Caution. This truck is turning left,” accompanied by white noise to cut through the surrounding noise.
“Mr Hempenstall contends that he did check and that his driving was not careless. Further, the side scan system would have activated, given Miss Capiello’s position in respect of the lorry, which would have alerted Mr Hempenstall to her presence.
Hempenstall has instructed his own collision consultant, David Loat, who has worked alongside the Metropolitan Police’s Serious Collision Investigation Unit and will give evidence during the trial.
The court heard Hempenstall’s ‘London Concrete’ lorry was fitted with CCTV and the side scan system and exhibited various warning signs to the side and rear.
The Brigade Electronics side scan proximity sensor system alerts the driver to any road users dangerously close to the inside of the lorry and four such sensors were fitted to the vehicle.
After the collision the sensor system passed safety checks and the prosecution case is that Hempenstall should have heard and acted on the audible warning.
After the collision fully licensed and insured Hempenstall pulled over. “In brief he said he did not see Miss Cappiello,” added Mr Common.
He spoke to an officer at the scene and said: “I don’t know where the cyclist I hit came from. I did not see her in my mirrors.”
The trial is expected to last a week……
