A Times journalist and former Varsity editor who was struck down by a distracted lorry driver while cycling to work has received a seven-figure settlement to fund the lifelong care she now requires.

Mary Bowers, 31, was cycling to work in November 2011 when she was crushed at a set of East London traffic lights by Petre Beiu, a tipper truck driver who failed to notice her waiting in the cycle box in front of his vehicle.

He struck Bowers as he turned to the left across her path, got out of his truck once he realised what had happened, but forgot to apply the handbrake, leaving the lorry to run her over a second time.

At his 2012 trial, Beiu was cleared of dangerous driving but found guilty of the lesser charge of careless driving, after the court heard that he was making a hands-free phone call, which he initially denied, at the time of the accident, even though she was directly in his line of sight. He was also banned from driving for eight months and fined £2,700, an amount deplored as a “complete insult” by Bowers’ father, according to the Evening Standard.

Soon after the initial impact, Bowers fell into a coma due to the significant brain injury, severely broken legs, severed artery, punctured lung, broken arm and broken pelvis she sustained.

Robert Glancy QC, who represented Bowers at Monday’s short hearing to agree on the settlement, told the court that she is now “completely unable to move and cannot speak”, and will spend the rest of her life in a care home.

As the insurers for Lynch Haulage, the firm for whom Beiu drove, Allianz are to award Bowers a seven-figure settlement to fund her care.

Bowers studied History at Queens’ between 2004 and 2007. During her time at Cambridge, she also served as the editor of Varsity. She then studied journalism at Columbia University in New York, before beginning a career in freelance journalism, writing for The Guardian, The Observer and various other publications.

At the time of the accident, Bowers had just graduated from The Times’ two-year training scheme and had been taken on as a full-time news reporter. During her traineeship, she is said to have shown a particular passion for social affairs investigations.

After the hearing on Monday, Bowers’ father told her former newspaper: “The impact of [my daughter]’s injuries has been devastating. Her career was flourishing and she had her whole life ahead of her. I can take consolation from the fact that this award will cover her care needs for the rest of her life [...] Safety on the UK’s roads needs to be made a priority.”

The Times initiated a Cities Fit for Cycling campaign in the wake of Bowers’ accident, aimed at making city roads safer for cyclists.