Transport for London has been fined £2 million after a 74-year-old pensioner was killed by a double-decker bus at a pedestrian crossing in Walthamstow bus station.
TfL, which answers to the Mayor of London, was convicted at Westminster magistrates’ court on Friday after the prosecution of TfL over the fatal Walthamstow bus crash, for failing to ensure pedestrians and vehicles could move safely around the busy north-east London interchange.
The case, brought by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE), followed the death of retired nurse Grace Mecaley in December 2023. Mrs Mecaley had been shopping on Walthamstow High Street and was walking home at about 5pm when she began crossing from Rose Bank Villas. She was around two-thirds of the way across the red-painted crossing when a route 212 double-decker rounded the corner and struck her. She suffered fatal injuries and was pronounced dead at the scene.
HSE told the court that CCTV footage showed five near-misses in the two days before the tragedy, and that a similar collision had happened in April 2022. The crossing sat at the apex of a bend where buses turn into the station, meaning drivers could swing towards it without a clear view of its full length. Although the ‘red carpet’ crossing was meant to give pedestrians priority, investigators said the layout created ambiguity over right of way and increased the risk of a collision.
The court also heard that TfL had failed to adequately monitor bus drivers operating at the station. In addition to the £2 million fine, the transport operator was ordered to pay £5,081 in costs.
Speaking after the sentencing, HSE inspector Laurence Goodacre said: “Grace was a vibrant member of her community and her loss will be deeply felt. Grace was simply walking home after shopping when she was struck and killed while using an authorised pedestrian crossing. TfL had a responsibility to keep pedestrians safe, but its failings meant Grace never made it home.”
TfL’s director of buses, Lorna Murphy, said the organisation’s thoughts remained with Mrs Mecaley’s family and friends, adding: “Every death on the transport network is devastating, and we’re determined to end the trauma caused by loss of life and injury.”
TfL closed Walthamstow bus station for six weeks in 2024 to carry out safety upgrades, and says permanent works to improve pedestrian safety were completed in December 2024. It has accepted responsibility for the charges but says it will consider its next steps regarding the level of the fine.
The sentence lands amid a wider push for safer streets in the capital, including a major expansion of 20mph speed limits across London.
Separately, the Evening Standard reports that Walthamstow MP Stella Creasy has written to Sadiq Khan urging him to act on safety at the bus station after a pedestrian was seriously injured there earlier this week — a separate incident from the 2023 tragedy.
