Doreen Davey
(Picture: Facebook)Tributes have been paid to a retired Home Office interpreter who was hit and killed by a bus at Oxford Circus.
Doreen Davey, 82, from Holborn, was run over and killed “instantly” after being struck by a bus in Regent Street on March 7.
Her family paid tribute to the “globe-trotting” interpreter who could speak 11 languages as an “incredible, talented woman”.
Her sister Cathy Eyre told the Standard: “I looked up to her all my life. She was an incredible, talented woman, independent and beautiful. I’m so upset.
“She was always travelling. She always had her head in a book and taught me knowledge is power. I got married at 19 and settled down but she was always moving.”
Ms Eyre fondly recalled her last memory of her sister at Christmas.
She added: “My children all know ‘Auntie Doreen’ they remember her so well. The last memory we have was all of us playing music at Christmas together after she came up to visit us all on the train.
“She was a beautiful Spanish guitar player and spent her days travelling across Spain. She ended up staying there for ten years. As far as I know, she never stopped travelling around the globe despite her age.”
Ms Eyre also said she felt “awful” for the bus driver.
She added: “He is going to see it and feel it for a long time. I was told she died instantly, I really hoped she wasn’t suffering.
“I was also worried for the people who helped her. I would like to thank them.”
Louise Cheeseman, TfL’s Director of Buses, said at the time of the collision: “We extend our deepest sympathies to the family and friends of the woman who died after a collision with a bus in Westminster.
“An urgent investigation with the bus operator, Go Ahead London, is underway to establish how this tragic incident happened.”
A Scotland Yard spokesman said: “Police were called by the London Ambulance Service to reports of a bus in collision with a pedestrian on Margaret Street, W1.
“Officers and the London Fire Brigade attended. Despite the efforts of emergency services, the woman was pronounced dead at the scene at 1.13pm.”
The driver is helping police with their enquiries.
