TfL faces criminal prosecution over death of woman at London bus station

Transport for London is facing a criminal prosecution over alleged safety failures at a bus station where a pensioner was struck by a double decker and died.

The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) has accused the organisation of breaking the law over the course of 20 years at Walthamstow bus station in north-east London.

It is said that between January 1 2004 and December 15 2023, TfL “failed to ensure that traffic routes, specifically at the northern crossing at Walthamstow bus station, were suitable for persons and vehicles using them”.

The criminal charge comes after the death, in December 2023, of 74-year-old retired nurse Grace Mecaley – who was fatally injured when she was struck by a route 212 double decker bus at the station.

Ms Mecaley had been an executive member of the Waltham Forest Race Equality Council since the 1980s.

In 2024, TfL shut down Walthamstow bus station for six weeks, saying it needed time to implement safety upgrades.

The prosecution alleges a breach of workplace regulations which govern the safety of pedestrians and traffic routes.

TfL was served with a notification of contravention by the HSE in March 2024, after inspectors found the transport authority had not provided safe crossings for pedestrians and vehicles at the station.

A second contravention notice followed in March 2025, this time over the behaviour of bus drivers at the site.

The first hearing of the case is due to take place on September 25 at Westminster Magistrates’ Court.

Lorna Murphy, TfL's director of buses, said last year that every death on the transport network was devastating and that the organisation was determined to end the loss of life and injury it causes.