An elderly pedestrian died after being dragged beneath the wheels of a tipper truck yards from a primary school.
The victim, in her 70s, was crossing the road near a Pelican crossing when she was knocked down.
Rescue teams worked for an hour to save her before she was pronounced dead at the scene in Rotherhithe New Road, Bermondsey, at 2.15pm yesterday.
It happened just yards from Rotherhithe Primary School where children as young as five were preparing to finish lessons.
Parents were asked to collect them from a separate entrance to avoid exposing them to the “horrific” scene.
A police source said officers were investigating claims the driver was speeding at the time of the crash.
One woman, who asked not to be named, said: “It was terrible. The lorry was still there when I got home last night, there were lots of police around. My neighbours are shocked and we all feel terrible for the woman’s family.”
A witness told the Southwark News that the woman was a Greek-Cypriot who had lived locally for many years.
He said: “It’s so sad. We used to call her Mrs Fig because she had loads of fig trees. She used to shout at us when we threw them at each other.”
“She was so lovely though, a genuinely nice lady.”
A 35-year-old man was arrested at the scene on suspicion of causing death by dangerous driving. He is today being questioned at a south London Police Station.
Witnesses were asked to call police on 101.
