High London winds cause building collapse killing female cab driver in her car

Unprecedented bad weather in London played a major role in the death of a London cab driver. The driver was crushed to death and two rear-seat passengers injured when a chunk of a building broke off due to high force winds, falling on the car. The horrific accident happened around 11 p.m. local time Friday, Feb. 14.

Very high winds along with sheets of rain and other meteorological difficulties have afflicted England and Europe for months. In this case, high winds near the Holbron subway station collapsed the front section of a building. The building fell down with debris careening on the front end of the Skoda Octavia taxi cab.

Julie Sillitoe, 49, of North London, was identified as the driver of the taxi that was on the street across from the Holborn tube station when large chunks of masonry fell. Sillitoe was married and had three grown sons.

A 25-year-old man suffered leg injuries and was extricated by emergency personnel. A 24-year-old woman managed to free herself from the back of the vehicle before emergency personnel arrived. They were taken to a nearby hospital to treat non-life threatening injuries. Sillitoe was pronounced dead by medical officials at the scene