Inquest of girl who died after e-bike fire reaches conclusion of accidental death.
A family friend of Sofia Duarte says "they will keep fighting"
The inquest into a girl who died after e-bike fire has reached a conclusion of accidental death.
Sofia Duarte was 21 when she passed away in Southwark on New Year's Day 2023.
However, the family's call for a Prevention of Future Death report has been rejected by the coroner, which a family friend of Sofia says they are "a bit disappointed" about.
Alda Simoes, who is a friend of Sofia's family, said "These types of Deaths could be prevented if the bikes were not at the only exit of the house.
"With many people that passed away - one of the reasons was that the bike was at the entrance so people could not come out of the house."
Alda added that her and the family will keep fighting.
"We will keep fighting - because the way we feel is we couldn't prevent Sofia's death but we can prevent others."
Assistant Commissioner for Fire Safety for the London Fire Brigade, Charlie Pugsley, said: “We would like to offer our sincerest condolences to Sofia’s family and friends at this time. We would also like to express our thanks and gratitude to Sofia’s family and close family friend Alda in helping us raise awareness of the dangers associated with charging and storing e-bikes and e-scooters.
"Their bravery, courage and determination to support our #ChargeSafe campaign in such difficult circumstances has undoubtedly helped raise national awareness. In addition, they’ve created an online petition in Sofia’s memory which has attracted over 40,000 signatures. This means Sofia’s death will never be forgotten and her story will help prevent others from going through the same pain and loss.
"The Brigade will continue to raise awareness to help people to stay safe and we will continue to call for much-needed legislation for online marketplaces to ensure products like conversion kits, batteries and chargers are strictly regulated.”