Cyclist critically injured in police car smash

A London cyclist is in a critical condition after being struck by a police car that was on its way to deal with a shooting in a housing estate. The 59-year-old man is in a critical but stable condition in an east London hospital after the collision in Islington yesterday evening. Witnesses said the impact of the crash threw him through the air. His next of kin have been informed. The police car, which had turned on its flashing lights and sirens, was responding to an emergency call to attend a shooting on Wilton Estate in Hackney. That incident left a 17-year-old teenager with gunshot wounds to his leg. The firearms inquiry is being conducted by officers from Operation Trident, the unit that specialises in gun crime in London's black community. The Metropolitan police's directorate of professional standards is handling the collision. The driver has been removed from driving duties while the inquiry continues. One witness, Lisa Hutchings, told the Evening Standard newspaper: "The sound of the police car hitting the bike was so loud I thought it was two cars crashing. I looked up and there was a body flying through the air. "One of the police officers ran past me. He went and started giving the cyclist first aid. When other police cars arrived, he [the officer] was taken away and I saw him being consoled by another officer. He seemed extremely distressed."