A neighbour today described the chilling moment he saw a young woman die after a construction vehicle fell on top of her in Dollis Hill.
The woman, in her 30s, died after the accident on a slope at the front of her house in Dollis Hill Avenue just after 10am yesterday.
A man who lives a few doors down was one of the first people on the scene.
The victim, said to have been doing construction work with the dumper for the past few weeks, has not yet been named officially. She was said to be a mum-of-four.
When approached by a member of the national press this morning, a distraught man emerged from the property and ordered him to leave. The dumper was still visible from the front of the semi-detached house.
The neighbour, meanwhile, told the Times: “There was a big bang. I was in my house. Thames Water are doing work on the street and I went to the house with the workers. We heard her shouting.
“We got there, but couldn’t do anything.”
He added: “It looks like she lost control and either jumped out or fell and the dumper came right on top of her.
“One woman came out holding a baby, but she was shaking and went back in.
“We were next to her. The sad part is we couldn’t do anything. We were helpless.”
He added: “She’s been doing the work for weeks. I could hear from my room. The dumper actually woke me up yesterday. When it reversed you could here the ‘beep, beep, beep’. I had seen her before and if I’m not mistaken, she was a new neighbour.”
Another man said: “The poor woman died? Bloody hell.
“I was having a walk and saw an air ambulance helicopter take off from behind the row of houses. There were quite a few police cars and ambulances on the street and they were still there when I went on my second walk three or four hours later.”
Police last night said the incident isn’t being treated as suspicious, but appealed for any witnesses to call police on 101, quoting 2122 of May 14.
Did you know the victim? Call the news desk on 020 7433 0121.
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