Wife of cyclist tells hit-and-run driver: Come to the mortuary

 
Rob Parsons14 February 2013
WEST END FINAL

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The wife of a cyclist killed in a hit-and-run crash today challenged the driver who left him for dead: “Come to the mortuary and see what you have done.”

George Orrey, a foreman working on the “Cheesegrater” Leadenhall Building, was knocked down by a car outside Leytonstone Tube station on Saturday morning. The silver Peugeot 206 was found abandoned nearby.

Mr Orrey, 56, was pronounced dead at the scene. He had four children and two grandchildren, with another on the way. His wife Elaine today described him as a “hard-working family man” and appealed for witnesses to the crash at 6.30am in Gainsborough Road.

She said: “I am mad, furious. The driver should be made to stand in that mortuary and look at what they have done. Maybe then they will show some remorse, looking at what they have left on the side of the road.

“George had everything he needed for his bike. He was in a dangerous job and he did everything he could to be safe in that job, it was the same on his bike. If there was any time to get away from it he would have done but it was head on and he stood no chance.”

Mr Orrey, who lived near Penzance in Cornwall, had worked the night shift at the construction site near Bank station and was cycling back to his van in Leytonstone. He was only working the weekend so he could have a day off this week for a medical appointment.

The steel erection foreman had worked in construction for 37 years and regularly cycled 20 miles a day.

An inquest into Mr Orrey’s death was opened and adjourned at Walthamstow coroner’s court yesterday. A post-mortem examination gave the cause of death as multiple injuries.

Police are keen to speak to anyone who saw a silver Peugeot 206 being driven between Gainsborough Road and Bushwood shortly after the collision, with damage to the front. Its occupants are thought to have fled on foot over Wanstead Flats. Anyone with information should call 020 8597 4874 or Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.

Three males aged 19, 18 and 16 were arrested and bailed until May.

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