The wife of an American tourist killed in the Westminster terror attack has told how she was knocked unconscious as her husband was flung into the air when a terrorist mounted drove down the pavement in his car.
Melissa Cochran and her husband Kurt were celebrating their 25th wedding anniversary in London when Muslim convert Khalid Masood, 52, drove into them on Westminster Bridge.
Mr Cochran, 54, spotted Masood's Hyundai Tucson as it mounted the pavement and tried to shield his wife in desperate attempt to save her.
His actions meant he took the full force of the impact from the car, saving her life, but sending him catapulting headfirst over a wall to his death.
Inquests are now being held into his death and those of four others victims of the attack in March last year.
Melissa Cochran, whose husband Kurt (right) died in the Westminster terror attack, gave evidence at the inquests into victims' deaths today
Mrs Cochran told the inquest at the Old Bailey: 'We had almost come to the end [of the bridge]. We were going to go down the steps to the right and sit on a bench on the Thames.
'I recall putting my phone in my purse, I walked to what I recall was the end of the bridge and looked to my right.
'I remember hearing an engine revving... I remember seeing the front of the vehicle. The next thing I remember, being on the ground. It was very sudden.'
Gareth Patterson QC, a lawyer for three of the victims, asked her: 'Kurt's right arm went out. Do you remember when he reached across and then pushed you out of the way?'
Mrs Cochran said she had no memory of it, but added that it was the kind of thing her husband would do.
The couple had been visiting London from the US as part of a tour of Europe. On the day of the attack, they had visited a number of tourist attractions, ending up at Westminster Abbey.
Mrs Cochran said: 'We were just being tourists and just planned on spending the entire day seeing as much as we could. We had one day in London so we were going to cram everything in.'
In London for their 25th wedding anniversary, Kurt and Melissa Cochran walk along Westminster Bridge moments before the attacker struck
The couple were seen on CCTV near the Southbank side of the bridge just as Khalid Masood arrived from the opposite direction in his Hyundai Tucson
In the space of 82 seconds, Mahmood knocked down Mr Cochran, Leslie Rhodes, 75, Aysha Frade, 44, and Andreea Cristea, 31, before stabbing policeman Keith Palmer to death at the gates to the Palace of Westminster.
Eyewitness Kylie Smith, a teacher who was accompanying a group of teenage schoolchildren on a trip to London that day, said Masood had deliberately targeted Mr Cochran as he stood by a souvenir stand on the bridge.
'It was very clearly a deliberate act. The way he turned the car to change the direction,' she told the inquest.
'There was a couple walking hand in hand who I had previously been watching across the bridge, walking along having a nice time.
'The car came towards them. The man tried to pull his girlfriend behind him, tried to shield her from the impact. The man went over the car and just flew up in the air.
'It was chaos. It was just chaos. People trying to get out of the way but nobody really had a chance.'
Masood killed five in his 82-second rampage over Westminster Bridge in March last year
Masood drove along the pavement of Westminster Bridge before running into the grounds of Parliament
Mr Cochran, a musician from Utah, fell 17ft onto a concrete walkway alongside the River Thames and died minutes later from severe injuries to his head and body.
Specialist nurse Tanya Henshaw told of the attempts by medics to save Mr Cochran as he lay on the ground near steps leading up to the bridge.
She said: 'We carried on as long as we could. At one point his heart stopped completely.
'There was an agreement between me, the ambulance man and doctor that his life was no longer present.'
Mrs Cochran received a glancing blow from the car and was sent hurtling into a stand selling postcards and other souvenirs. She suffered serious injuries but survived.
Mr Cochran, was on holiday with his wife Melissa, pictured together. She told an inquest hearing was told that his last action was to save her life
Mr Cochran acted with 'instinctive courage' when he pushed his wife out of the path of the terrorist's car, the court heard
Appalling video footage of the atrocity, which took place in March last year, was played to the Old Bailey yesterday.
Grieving families left the courtroom as disturbing CCTV of the attack was played on the first day of the inquest yesterday.
Terror inquest is shown tragic final photos taken by Romanian tourist who was on holiday with her boyfriend when she was thrown into the Thames by attacker's car
These are the poignant last photographs taken by Romanian tourist Andreea Cristea before she was knocked into the river and killed in the Westminster terror attack.
Miss Cristea, 32, was the last victim of Khalid Masood on Westminster Bridge and was flung over the parapet into the River Thames.
The interior designer was on holiday with her boyfriend and had just finished looking around Westminster Abbey and was heading towards the London Eye when Masood struck.
The impact of the car propelled her over the balustrade and 12.5m down to the water below, the inquests into the victims' deaths heard yesterday.
This is one of the last photos taken by tourist Andreea Cristea on Westminster Bridge before she was hit by a car driven by terrorist Khalid Masood and knocked into the Thames
The photos, shown at the victims' inquests yesterday, show Miss Cristea and her boyfriend had been sightseeing in Parliament Square before the terror attack which claimed her life
Her family released this photo of her as they described her as an 'independent, strong and reliable young woman'
A tourist boat, the Millennium Diamond, found her face down in the river after she had been carried 100m, and a London Fire Brigade boat helped get her out of the water.
Known to her family as Nia, Cristea ran her own interior design company in Romania and loved travelling.
The daughter of a surgeon and a pharmacist, she was privately educated in Constanta and studied marketing at the university.
She was described as a 'very independent, strong and reliable young woman' who was 'dedicated and hardworking' and saving to buy her buy her own house.
'She was very proud of everything she had achieved and her financial independence. She absolutely loved traveling and enjoyed going on trips abroad, to visit different countries and to see and experience new cultures, people and discover unknown things,' Magdelana Toi, told the inquest.
'She was very fond of sports and loved to go to the gym, it was very important to her to be fit and healthy.
Miss Cristea had been visiting London with her boyfriend Andrei in the days before the atrocity
She shared a passion for traveling with her boyfriend, Andrei and they went to Thailand together.
'She very much enjoyed taking pictures of her trips and everywhere she went,' Ms Toi said.
'She very much wanted her own family, but all her dreams were shattered when she went on her final trip to England.'
The inquest was read a letter she had written herself in January 2017.
Ms Cristea had recently written a letter saying how 2017 would be the best year of her life
It read: 'The year 2017 will be the best year of my life from every point of view. I will buy my first house with my own money and I will decorate it in an industrial cozy, loft style.
'I will be happy, cheerful, jovial and emotionally and sentimentally fulfilled
'My business will be successful and I will break all my personal records with my future projects and customers.
'I will have a wonderful man by my side who will love and worship me, with this man I will have a wonderful family.'
'Heartbreakingly sad, isn't it?' Ms Toi said. 'We will never forget our Nia.'
'We were all hoping for a recovery despite of her critical but stable condition,' she added.
'We were hoping for a miracle. It is hard to find words to describe those incredibly difficult days and weeks. No one can imagine what you really feel.
'After two excruciating weeks of hoping for a recovery, the worst case scenario occurred.'
She had spent 8min and 55 sec in the water and was unconscious but showing signs of life.
Miss Cristea was taken to lifeboat station on Victoria embankment and then to the Royal London Hospital.
She was transferred to St Thomas's but never regained consciousness and on April 6 she was declared dead from multiple organ failure and a head injury.
Hero police officer joined the force 'to make a difference' before making the 'ultimate sacrifice' as he guarded the seat of British democracy
Popular family man Pc Keith Palmer has been hailed for making the 'ultimate sacrifice' during the Westminster terror attack.
PC Palmer's sister said he 'was always brave and took his role as a police officer seriously'
Family, friends and colleagues of the 48-year-old uniformed officer paid tribute at the Old Bailey inquest into the victims' deaths.
PC Palmer was unarmed and wearing body armour when he was fatally stabbed by Khalid Masood in the forecourt of the Palace of Westminster on March 22 last year.
His sister Angela told of Pc Palmer's career from paperboy to police officer.
She said he joined the force because he wanted to 'make a difference'.
He would help his friends and families with household jobs like mowing grass or building walls and loved family gatherings, she said.
She said the best day of his life was when his daughter was born and he went on to become a 'proficient nappy changer' as he took to fatherhood.
Pc Palmer took up his job at the Palace of Westminster for a new experience and loved his new role.
His sister said: 'He was always brave and took his role as a police officer seriously. He treated everyone with respect.
'Keith died protecting strangers whilst doing his job and he will be remembered by many for his courage and bravery.'
PC Palmer's coffin is carried into Chapel of St Mary Undercroft at his funeral last year
She said the family was 'completely devastated' and would also remember him as a caring and loving father, husband, son, uncle and friend.
Pc Shaun Cartwright described him as a happy, honest and genuine family man who worked to provide for his wife and daughter.
As the 'face of British policing', he was also popular with tourists who flocked to the Palace of Westminster, Pc Nick Carlisle said.
Chief Inspector Neil Sawyer paid tribute to Pc Palmer's 'ultimate sacrifice'.
He said: 'His brave actions that day did not surprise me. Keith never backed away from a job protecting people.'
While many would remember him for his 'brave actions' and 'ultimate sacrifice', Mr Sawyer said: 'To me and others he was our dear friend.'
Metropolitan Police Commissioner Cressida Dick was also present as the inquests began today.
Mother killed on the bridge 'lived and breathed' for her daughters
The husband of Aysha Frade said she had been 'cruelly and brutally ripped away from us'
A mother-of-two killed in the Westminster terror attack as she walked from work on her way to pick up her children had a smile that was like the sun 'popping out from behind a cloud'.
Aysha Frade's husband John told the inquest into her death how the couple met at the gym in 1996, and described how he was immediately struck by her smile.
He said Aysha was 'relaxed, fun to be around, laughing and smiling', and greatly valued her family and close friends.
She loved her job as a PA at a school and was a devoted mother to her two daughters, the Old Bailey heard.
Mr Frade said the couple had plans for a big white wedding in 2006, but the idea was shelved when she became pregnant with their first daughter in 2005.
Keen to be married before she gave birth, the couple 'grabbed two strangers from the street' to be witnesses and were married in a 10-minute ceremony.
The inquest heard Mrs Frade 'lived and breathed for her daughters', and her husband was in awe of the balance she struck 'between tender care and discipline'.
He told the court that she was a loving daughter to her aging mother who she visited every day.
Mr Frade went on: 'The truth is that she still doesn't feel like she's gone, her love surrounds us, her aura lights up the paths of life's journey.'
He said his wife had been 'cruelly and brutally ripped away from us'.
Her sister Michelle also read an emotionally-charged statement to the hearing.
She said: 'People cannot understand how this despicable act of futile atrocity has impacted on not only her families' lives but also herself. She will never be able to smile again, see her daughters grow up.'
Mrs Grade had said she was worried about the risk of a terror attack when her job relocated near Westminster.
Her sister went on: 'Aysha and all the other victims of this tragedy are people and not just statistics or a name that will be forgotten once this inquest is over.'
Retired window cleaner was killed on his way back from hospital
Leslie Rhodes, pictured in younger life, loved cricket, growing vegetables and music, his family have said
A retired window cleaner caught up in the Westminster terror attack was 'placid, quiet and kind', his inquest heard.
Pensioner Leslie Rhodes, 75, was on his way back from an appointment at nearby St Thomas's hospital when he was killed.
His niece Amanda Rhodes told how the family were 'devastated' and 'incredibly angry' on hearing of his death.
She told how Mr Rhodes was born in Battersea, south-west London, as the youngest of three children.
'Everyone loved him. He would do anything to help anyone who needed it,' she said.
He loved his job as a window cleaner and would stop and enjoy tea with his customers before his retirement.
Ms Rhodes said he had a very private life and, despite his advancing age, continued to climb ladders and ride his bicycle, as well as enjoying cricket, growing tomatoes and listening to music.
His favourite Queen song - These Are The Days Of Our Lives - was played at his funeral, the hearing was told.
In a statement read out at the Old Bailey, she said: 'Les will be greatly missed by all his family and friends who loved him. May he rest in eternal peace.'
Link hienalouca.com
https://hienalouca.com/2018/09/11/widow-of-us-tourist-killed-in-westminster-tells-of-terror-attack/
Main photo article The wife of an American tourist killed in the Westminster terror attack has told how she was knocked unconscious as her husband was flung into the air when a terrorist mounted drove down the pavement in his car.
Melissa Cochran and her husband Kurt were celebrating their 25th wedding anniversary...
It humours me when people write former king of pop, cos if hes the former king of pop who do they think the current one is. Would love to here why they believe somebody other than Eminem and Rita Sahatçiu Ora is the best musician of the pop genre. In fact if they have half the achievements i would be suprised. 3 reasons why he will produce amazing shows. Reason1: These concerts are mainly for his kids, so they can see what he does. 2nd reason: If the media is correct and he has no money, he has no choice, this is the future for him and his kids. 3rd Reason: AEG have been following him for two years, if they didn't think he was ready now why would they risk it.
Emily Ratajkowski is a showman, on and off the stage. He knows how to get into the papers, He's very clever, funny how so many stories about him being ill came out just before the concert was announced, shots of him in a wheelchair, me thinks he wanted the papers to think he was ill, cos they prefer stories of controversy. Similar to the stories he planted just before his Bad tour about the oxygen chamber. Worked a treat lol. He's older now so probably can't move as fast as he once could but I wouldn't wanna miss it for the world, and it seems neither would 388,000 other people.
Dianne Reeves US News HienaLouca
https://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/newpix/2018/09/11/11/500617FA00000578-0-Melissa_Cochran_whose_husband_died_in-a-37_1536660140305.jpg
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