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| Family’s plea at road death
scene |
Hand-written signs go up after police
consider witness board ‘inappropriate’
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Rashad Ahmed at the spot where his daughter was killed
Sharmin Ahmed
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THE family of a Holborn schoolgirl killed in a road accident
say they have been forced to put up their own hand-written posters
at the scene appealing for witnesses.
Popular Sharmin Ahmed, 15, who had hoped to become a doctor, suffered
multiple injuries in the accident involving a number 19 bus at a
pedestrian crossing in Highbury.
A senior police officer said this week he had not authorised the
siting of an accident notice because a number of eye-witnesses had
already come forward, and he thought the wording on the board might
be “inappropriate”.
The Ahmed family, who live in Portpool Lane, have questioned the
decision not to put up a board. They have been assigned a police
family liaison officer to provide support, but say they have only
met him once, briefly, a week after the accident.
An inquest is due to be held at St Pancras Coroner’s Court
into the death of Sharmin, one of six children, who attended Elizabeth
Garrett Anderson School in Islington.
The family are also critical of the fact that resurfacing work has
now virtually obliterated the scene of the accident, which happened
in Highbury Grove at 1.30pm on Friday, September 30, as Sharmin
was returning from a lunch break to a home for the elderly, where
she was doing work experience.
She was taken by air ambulance to the Royal London Hospital in Whitechapel,
east London, where she was pronounced dead.
Her father, Rashad, a student engineer, said he could not understand
why there was no police poster appealing for witnesses.
He said: “I always thought this was normal in a fatal accident.
There were a number of people around at the time and a board might
prompt more of them to come forward.
“I cannot see why they allowed building work to begin at the
exact spot of the accident, which means that it is now fenced off
and dug up.
“I would hope the police would investigate all aspects of this
case, including the speed of the bus and whether or not there was
due care for pedestrians.”
Sergeant Jim Mills, from the police traffic accident investigation
unit at Euston, said he had taken the decision not to put up the
witness board.
He added: “I have a personal view about these signs. The way
they are worded is not always very appropriate. They just say ‘fatal
incident’, which I think is a bit blunt and could mean anything.
“Besides, we’ve already got a large number of witnesses
who are being interviewed. “
He added that work had been allowed to start at the scene of the
accident because all police work has been completed.
But he was concerned that the Ahmeds had only had one visit from
the family liaison officer.
Sgt Mills said: “I was not aware there has been only one meeting
and I shall contact him to find out what has happened. I know he
will be meeting with them again soon.”
He added: “This is a very tragic incident and I am sorry that
the family have concerns about the investigation.
“We are still talking to the bus driver as a matter of course.
Further action cannot be ruled out. We have also, obviously, examined
the bus. We are getting technical evidence from CCTV on the bus
and we will be writing up an accident reconstruction report. This
will be available to the family and the coroner.”
Sharmin’s funeral at East London Mosque in Whitechapel was
attended by hundreds of relatives and friends. Her eldest sister
Rime said: “She was doing really well at school and was so
bubbly and really lovely.” |
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