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Russian in car tragedy
NEIGHBOURS and friends have spoken in praise of a Russian pensioner who was killed by a car as he stepped onto a pedestrian crossing on Saturday.
Petr Loukoyanov, 87, was hit by a blue van as he crossed a notorious rat run outside the Bull and Bush pub, North End Way, Hampstead.
A post mortem yesterday ruled he died of multiple injuries.
His family is in talks with embassies in Russia and England to fly him home for burial.
Mr Loukoyanov, who lived minutes away, in Park Drive, was described as a “happy, smiling man, who tipped with every drink” by staff at the Bull and Bush.
Manager Carmen Litiu, 22, said Mr Loukoyanov would regularly come in for half a lager, adding: “My staff adored him. He was someone that everybody loved. He couldn’t speak English but he was very friendly.”
She added: “One of the lamps on the zebra crossing doesn’t work. The cars never stop. It was on the agenda for the next residents meeting.”
Neighbours on adjacent streets Sandy Road and North End say they have been fighting for better safety measures for years.
Consultant Jo Bell, of North End Residents Association, said: “Here you step out knowing quite well there’s a good chance a car won’t be able to stop. Ultimately we want a speed camera.”
One resident said: “It’s always been dangerous. When the cars are going uphill you get the sun in your eyes. It’s very difficult to see. It happened at the time when the sun was very low.”
Her thoughts were echoed by another neighbour who said the sun was “dazzling” in the mornings. Writer John Foley of Sandy Road, said: “People go at ridiculous speeds. There have been a number of crashes. It is a danger spot.
“It’s been a problem for years and now National Express coaches are zooming up and down at what seems to be a furious rate. There was an accident two years ago that’s gone to the European Court because someone backed out of Sandy Road into a cyclist who we think was going out of control on the hill.”
Another resident said: “I’ve been complaining bitterly about this for years. There’s a blind spot coming down the hill. The sign warning of the zebra crossing is too close to the crossing and there’s no warning sign on the other side of the road.”
Police have confirmed the 58-year-old van driver was breathalysed but has not been charged.
A Camden Council spokeswoman said it was working with Barnet to put in an additional crossing but that speed humps could hinder emergency vehicles.
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