Ban ‘silent killer’ electric bikes, say devastated relatives of first pedestrian to be knocked down and killed
- Sakine Cihan died after being struck by e-bike being ridden by Thomas Hanlon
- Hanlon walked free from court after he was acquitted of careless driving
- Ms Cihan’s heartbroken sister Sehriban Tezerdi has called for a ban on e-bikes
The devastated family of the first pedestrian to be killed in a collision with an electric bicycle have called for the ‘silent killers’ to be banned.
Sakine Cihan, 56, died after being struck by an e-bike being ridden by Thomas Hanlon at 30mph – double the legal speed limit for e-bikes – on a 20mph road in East London.
The 32-year-old bricklayer, whose £850 bicycle was souped up with a high-powered motor, fled the scene of the tragedy. But he walked free from court last week after he was acquitted of careless driving.
Sakine Cihan, 56, died after being struck by an e-bike being ridden by Thomas Hanlon at 30mph – double the legal speed limit for e-bikes – on a 20mph road in East London
Ms Cihan’s heartbroken sister Sehriban Tezerdi told The Mail on Sunday: ‘Something urgently needs to be done before anyone else dies.
‘In court they said she stepped out in front of the bike and that she walked straight into it. I’m certain it’s because these electric bikes are silent – they are silent killers – and there was no sound to alert her to its fast approach. They need to be banned… I know it was an accident but there will be many more if something isn’t done now.’
By law, bicycles with an electric motor can be driven without a licence or insurance only if their power is limited and the motor switches off at 15.5mph.
But the court heard Mr Hanlon’s bike could travel at double that speed so it was classed as a motorcycle, and a rider would need a licence.
More than 60,000 e-bikes were sold in 2018, and their popularity is rising.
But critics say the bikes – and e-scooters which are illegal to ride on roads – are dangerous because they are quiet and can be ‘tuned up’ to travel at speeds above 40mph.
The 32-year-old bricklayer, above, whose £850 bicycle was souped up with a high-powered motor, fled the scene of the tragedy. But he walked free from court last week after he was acquitted of careless driving
Witnesses to the fatal crash in August 2018 recalled seeing ‘arms and legs flying into the air’ before Ms Cihan lay motionless and bleeding from the mouth, nose and ears in the middle of the road.
She was rushed to hospital but died the next day from a ‘catastrophic’ brain injury.
Mr Hanlon, from Hackney, East London, sobbed after he was cleared at the Old Bailey trial which heard Ms Cihan had tried to cross the road despite the traffic lights being green.
Ms Cihan, from Golbasi, a small town south of the Turkish capital Ankara, had moved to Britain in 2001.
Mrs Tezerdi, 52, from Ankara, said: ‘My sister was the gentlest soul alive. I don’t want her death to be in vain.’