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

A protest is being held 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 struck by a car on Upper Highgate Street.

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

Mayar’s father Babiker Yahia will take part in a protest near the site of the collision today (July 20) organised by campaign group Better Streets for Birmingham.

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

“Today’s protest is so we can all share our voices, and maybe it will help prevent the same thing from happening in the future.”

Today’s protest comes after more 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 from Edgbaston, Harborne and Quinton have to pass through this dangerous area on a daily basis.

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

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

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

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