Father of 4-year-old girl killed in Birmingham calls for action against dangerous drivers | News

A protest takes place in Highgate, close to where the tragedy happened.

The father of a four-year-old girl who died after being hit by a car in Birmingham is calling for urgent action to prevent more lives being lost.

Mayar Yahia was walking home with her mother in April when she was knocked down in Upper Highgate.

Two men were arrested at the time on suspicion of causing death by dangerous driving and later released.

Mayar’s father Babiker Yahia will join a protest near the collision site today (July 20) organized by campaign group Better Streets for Birmingham.

Mr Yahia said: “There are no cameras. This affects people walking and crossing the roads. Something must be done to make the streets safe.

“Today’s protest is about us all sharing our voices together and maybe that will help in the future to prevent the same thing from happening.”

Today’s protest comes after other recent tragedies on the city’s roads.

A 52-year-old father was killed in Yardley last month, the third cyclist to die on Birmingham’s streets in the space of a month.

Kevin Carmody from Better Streets for Birmingham, said: “Many of us in Edgbaston, Harborne and Quinton have to travel through this dangerous area every day.

“We can see ourselves in this cyclist. We know the fear our families feel when traveling through Edgbaston. But the lack of secure infrastructure means we have no choice. So once again we are forced to take to the streets”.

Birmingham City Council and the West Midlands Combined Authority are developing new road safety strategies.

Their goal is to achieve Vision Zero, where no one is killed or seriously injured in a collision on city roads.

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