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First picture of brilliant Cambridge student dragged to her
death by hit and run driver
By Daily Mail Reporter
Last updated at 4:55 PM on 1st October 2010
Hit and run: Mingwei Tan died after being knocked down by a lorry on the early hours of Thursday morning
A student dragged a mile to her death after a hit and run outside a London hospital was a brilliant Cambridge medical undergraduate, it emerged.
Mingwei Tan was due to start her third year at the university's Peterhouse College, where she was studying medical science.
She was also the president of the Cambridge University karate club.
But the 20-year-old was killed by the hit and run outside Hampstead's Royal Free Hospital.
Dr Philip Pattenden, senior tutor at Peterhouse College, said: 'The death of Mingwei Tan, an undergraduate at Peterhouse who as due to start her third year at the College, is reported with much regret.
'She was doing very well in medical sciences and was a popular member of our community, always full of joy. She will be truly missed.
'The College is greatly saddened by its loss and extends its sympathy to the family.'
Miss Tan was dragged for a mile when she was hit on Wednesday night
She was found suffering serious injuries a mile away at around 2am, outside the home of former French rugby international Thomas Castaignede.
Paramedics were unable to save her. It is believed she died on her birthday.
Police say it is possible that the driver is not aware he or she hit the victim Tan.
Her handbag – containing a wallet, mobile phone and student ID – was found in the road 150 metres from the body, alongside a clump of dark hair, outside Belsize Park Tube station.
The 20-year-old Singaporean woman was thought to have been struck outside the Royal Free Hospital in Belsize Park, before being dragged three quarters of a mile down Haverstock Hill
It is thought that the woman was dragged there from the Royal Free Hospital which is about a mile away in Hampstead, where police found her shoes.
One resident said: ‘There were two white plimsolls in the road, a few metres away from the hospital.
‘That must have been where the girl was hit.
‘The police had put white crime scene circles around them this morning when they cordoned off the road.
‘They got moved pretty quickly though. It sounds horrific.’
Police tape cordons off the area around Belsize Park Tube station. Circled are the handbag and other belongings of the victim
Police cordoned off a section of road stretching more than a mile as they searched for clues.
Two night buses also remained at the scene and police helicopters hovered overhead.
Detectives were last night trawling CCTV to find out what vehicle was involved. Another person who lives near the Royal Free, who also did not wish to be named, said: ‘My friend spoke to the police officer and he said it was a young girl.
‘They thought that she might have been hit by a truck.
‘The policeman said that they checked her ID and they realised that it was her birthday today. It’s a tragedy.’
Police are examining CCTV images of a car which braked suddenly outside a local shop at the time of the accident
Shop owner Raja Rehman said: ‘The car was just beyond the Tube. It was an empty road but the car braked suddenly and stopped before carrying on again.
‘It was a black saloon car but you can’t see if there was a person on the car.
‘The police watched it and they said that they needed to have a copy. They thought it was quite important.
‘I woke up at seven this morning and the whole road was cordoned off.
‘I asked the police what had happened and why the road was closed for so far and they said that they thought the incident took place over a long distance.
Forensics officers survey the scene where the woman was thought to have been struck
‘They said that there was a shoe in the road outside the hospital and there is a handbag near my shop with a clump of hair attached to it.’
Resident Rosalind Turner-Wellman said: ‘There is obviously more to this than a normal hit and run because they have cordoned off so much of the road.
‘I have lived here for a long time and it’s terrible to think that someone has died here. It’s so sad.’
Another neighbour in Belsize Park added: ‘The body was found right outside my house.
‘We didn’t hear anything. We had the window open last night and my son wakes up at the slightest noise, so if there had been some kind of crash we would have heard it. It’s very strange.’
Mr Castaignede, 35, said he had not heard anything either, adding that he had been asleep at the time.
death by hit and run driver
By Daily Mail Reporter
Last updated at 4:55 PM on 1st October 2010
Hit and run: Mingwei Tan died after being knocked down by a lorry on the early hours of Thursday morning
A student dragged a mile to her death after a hit and run outside a London hospital was a brilliant Cambridge medical undergraduate, it emerged.
Mingwei Tan was due to start her third year at the university's Peterhouse College, where she was studying medical science.
She was also the president of the Cambridge University karate club.
But the 20-year-old was killed by the hit and run outside Hampstead's Royal Free Hospital.
Dr Philip Pattenden, senior tutor at Peterhouse College, said: 'The death of Mingwei Tan, an undergraduate at Peterhouse who as due to start her third year at the College, is reported with much regret.
'She was doing very well in medical sciences and was a popular member of our community, always full of joy. She will be truly missed.
'The College is greatly saddened by its loss and extends its sympathy to the family.'
Miss Tan was dragged for a mile when she was hit on Wednesday night
She was found suffering serious injuries a mile away at around 2am, outside the home of former French rugby international Thomas Castaignede.
Paramedics were unable to save her. It is believed she died on her birthday.
Police say it is possible that the driver is not aware he or she hit the victim Tan.
Her handbag – containing a wallet, mobile phone and student ID – was found in the road 150 metres from the body, alongside a clump of dark hair, outside Belsize Park Tube station.
The 20-year-old Singaporean woman was thought to have been struck outside the Royal Free Hospital in Belsize Park, before being dragged three quarters of a mile down Haverstock Hill
It is thought that the woman was dragged there from the Royal Free Hospital which is about a mile away in Hampstead, where police found her shoes.
One resident said: ‘There were two white plimsolls in the road, a few metres away from the hospital.
‘That must have been where the girl was hit.
‘The police had put white crime scene circles around them this morning when they cordoned off the road.
‘They got moved pretty quickly though. It sounds horrific.’
Police tape cordons off the area around Belsize Park Tube station. Circled are the handbag and other belongings of the victim
Police cordoned off a section of road stretching more than a mile as they searched for clues.
Two night buses also remained at the scene and police helicopters hovered overhead.
Detectives were last night trawling CCTV to find out what vehicle was involved. Another person who lives near the Royal Free, who also did not wish to be named, said: ‘My friend spoke to the police officer and he said it was a young girl.
‘They thought that she might have been hit by a truck.
‘The policeman said that they checked her ID and they realised that it was her birthday today. It’s a tragedy.’
Police are examining CCTV images of a car which braked suddenly outside a local shop at the time of the accident
Shop owner Raja Rehman said: ‘The car was just beyond the Tube. It was an empty road but the car braked suddenly and stopped before carrying on again.
‘It was a black saloon car but you can’t see if there was a person on the car.
‘The police watched it and they said that they needed to have a copy. They thought it was quite important.
‘I woke up at seven this morning and the whole road was cordoned off.
‘I asked the police what had happened and why the road was closed for so far and they said that they thought the incident took place over a long distance.
Forensics officers survey the scene where the woman was thought to have been struck
‘They said that there was a shoe in the road outside the hospital and there is a handbag near my shop with a clump of hair attached to it.’
Resident Rosalind Turner-Wellman said: ‘There is obviously more to this than a normal hit and run because they have cordoned off so much of the road.
‘I have lived here for a long time and it’s terrible to think that someone has died here. It’s so sad.’
Another neighbour in Belsize Park added: ‘The body was found right outside my house.
‘We didn’t hear anything. We had the window open last night and my son wakes up at the slightest noise, so if there had been some kind of crash we would have heard it. It’s very strange.’
Mr Castaignede, 35, said he had not heard anything either, adding that he had been asleep at the time.
