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Holloway Prison warden Roy Tillson was popular among his colleagues |
Hit-and-run victim ‘ignored’
Prison warden was trapped under car after being fatally hit as he rode scooter
A GOOD Samaritan was ignored by passers-by as he pleaded for help to lift a car that had fatally crushed a scooter rider on Sunday morning.
Roy Tillson, a 45-year-old grandfather and warden at Holloway Prison, was killed in a hit-and-run in Seven Sisters Road close to Finsbury Park station as he rode to work for an early shift.
The driver of a green Rover 414 overtook a parked Tube replacement coach, ploughing head-on into Mr Tillson and dragging him underneath the car.
Inspector Dave Toms, of the Euston Traffic Garage, said: “The driver went out to the centre of the carriageway and into the opposite lane. The driver hit the scooter coming the other way and the rider received fatal injuries.
“The car came to a halt, followed by another vehicle.
“The Rover driver got out and stayed for a little while and had a brief conversation with the driver of the car who was following behind. Then he walked off and hasn’t been seen since.
“Because of the position of the body, there was no way we could get underneath and we had to wait for the vehicle to be lifted up.”
As Mr Tillson, a veteran prison warden and trade union rep, lay dying under the car, a passer-by tried in vain to lift the heavy vehicle.
Khuram Shzad, 26, who works at the Sunrise Food Stop a few yards from the scene, said: “There was a guy who was trying to lift up the car and shouting to other people to give him a hand but no one stopped to help him. No one could even be bothered to try and lift it. It’s so sad.”
Inspector Toms said: “There seems to be a general reluctance of people to get involved. It is very disappointing, especially when you’ve got a life and death situation that people who are in a position to help choose not to.
“It is disappointing on a personal, humanitarian level and also on a professional level.
“You’d think these passers-by would have something in their conscience that would want to make them try and save someone’s life.”
The Rover driver has still not been traced and police are urging him to come forward.
Mr Tillson was pronounced dead at the scene. A postmortem at St Pancras Mortuary on Monday gave the cause of death as multiple injuries.
An inquest at St Pancras Coroner’s Court was opened and adjourned on Tuesday morning.
Mr Tillson lived with his wife, Maria, in Malden Court, Finsbury Park. He was a father-of-two and a grandfather-of-one and renowned among colleagues as a “caring family man”.
He had worked at Holloway since 2001 after leaving Wandsworth prison and had been in the service since 1985.
He was a committed union man for the Prison Officers’ Association (POA) and was due to take over as branch chairman on Monday, the day after his death.
Tom Appadoo, Holloway’s current POA branch chairman, said: “Roy was an extremely well-liked colleague and a very compassionate person.
“He always cared about the people around him, was extremely diligent and was respected by his colleagues and prisoners alike.”
A steady stream of wardens and prison staff visited the scene of the crash this week to pay their respects to their “absolutely lovely” colleague and friend.
Fustina Duberry, 28, a mother-of-two, said: “When we came into work on Monday morning everyone was crying and really shocked.
“Roy was such a jolly man, absolutely lovely, and was one of those people who came into your life and made such a positive impression.”
Police sources say “the net is closing in” on the hit-and-run Rover driver and are hopeful of an arrest in the coming days.
Inspector Toms added: “We are still anxious to speak to the driver and would appeal to his conscience.”
Witnesses are asked to call the Euston Traffic Garage on 020 7321 9941 or 020 7388 6806.
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