UK4 min(s) read
Published 17:28 18 Jan 2023 GMT
A delivery driver in the United Kindom killed a five-year-old little girl and continued on his mission to drop off a takeout meal, an inquest has recently heard.
On April 1, Istvan Zarka was in the middle of fulfilling a customer's order when he hit Minaal Salam as she was crossing the road on her way home from an after-school club in Stoke-On-Trent, according to a report by ITV News.
She was carried on the bonnet of the Volkswagen Touran for approximately 10 feet before the vehicle stopped.
When the young girl's father pleaded with the perpetrator to call an ambulance, the 63-year-old told him "No, go away" before fleeing the scene to go and deliver a takeout meal requested by a customer. He did, however, return after he was done and refused to give any further comments to officers who were already at the scene by then.
Salam suffered a cardiac arrest and was pronounced dead just 40 minutes later when the paramedics arrived.
An inquest heard the heartbroken father's recollection of the events as the victim's mother questioned officers about their handling of the case.
PC Matthew Brailsford said: "Abdus [Salam's father] stood at the side of the road and looked both ways four or five times. Minaal took one step out in the road. A car came down the road. He only saw it coming when it was one foot away.
"Minaal fell forward onto the bonnet. It carried her for about 10 feet before it stopped. He put the car seat down. He held her in his arms. He said to the driver: 'You hit my daughter, can you please help me and call an ambulance?' The driver said 'No, go away' and drove off down the road."
"Abdus gave CPR and shouted for help," the officer continued, before adding: "He said it was 20 minutes before anyone came and 20 minutes later before the ambulance came."
An investigation into the incident concluded that the collision was "unavoidable" while assistant coroner Emma Serrano, described it as "tragic".
"She passed away as the result of an accident. A tragic accident, but nevertheless, it's an accident."
Salam's mother proceeded to ask PC Brailsford if they were sure that the driver was paying attention, stating: "I am sorry to say but there are loopholes. You say you don't know but I think you had the right to cross-question the witness or ask more questions like I have."
Sergeant Ben Foster then told the inquest: "At the point the pedestrian stepped off the kerbside the collision was unavoidable. It's my opinion that the driver had insufficient time to avoid the collision and was still in the reaction period."
Zarka was charged with leaving the scene of an accident and driving without business insurance, but the charge relating to him failing to stop at the scene was later dropped.
It was also concluded that the driver was adhering to the speed limit at the time of the incident.
In the wake of the accident, the grieving mother paid tribute to her daughter. "There is not a single moment where I don't miss her. She was very loving," she said.
"She would help me with the groceries, and help me with the cooking. She loved cooking. She wanted me to pass all my recipes to her when she grew up. She wanted to be a doctor like her dad. She loved her sister and was very proud that she had a baby sister."
She added that the loss of her little girl is "painful" and has turned her "bitter."
"It's very painful. I am not the same person anymore. I am bitter. I don't think I am kind because I feel like there's no good in the world because that happened to me. She was just a child.
"I have lots of memories. She was a lovely girl. She was pretty like a princess. She was a clean girl - the little one is very messy. She was a very helpful and caring person. I miss her, and I love her. It's really hard to live and do anything without her.
"...I will always love her."
Our thoughts are with the victim's family during this difficult time.
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us2 min(s) read
Published 09:42 19 Mar 2022 GMT
The grieving father of a college golfer who died in a Texas crash on Tuesday slammed the dad of a 13-year-old for allowing the teenager to drive the pickup truck that crashed into a van killing nine people.
“That is the very picture of lunacy — to allow a 13-year-old behind the wheel of a pickup traveling down the road at 70 miles per hour at night. That has got to be the zenith of lunacy,” Gary Raines, father of Karisa Raines, who was killed in the collision, told The New York Post on Friday.
Karisa was a 21-year-old avid golfer from Fort Stockton, Texas. She was only a couple of months away from graduating with a bachelor's degree from the University of the Southwest, her father told The Post. Her family is now in the middle of planning her memorial service.
Karisa was one of nine people who lost their lives in the fiery crash near Midland, Texas. She was in a van carrying members of the men's and women's golf teams from the University of the Southwest.
At approximately 8:17 PM, a 13-year-old boy behind the wheel of a pickup truck lost control after a tire blew out, the National Transportation Safety Board said. The board is carrying out an investigation into the incident. The teen's father, Henrich Siemens, was also in the vehicle. Both of them died in the collision.
“(Henrich Siemens) was guilty of not only stupidity and lunacy, but he was also guilty of child abuse, in my opinion. Do I blame the kid for the wreck — I do not. Do I blame the father for the wreck, I do not. I blame the father for not having better sense,” said Gary Raines.
The mother of Laci Stone, who also lost her life during the incident, told the outlet that she isn't sure what to make of the fact that such a young boy was driving the truck that killed her daughter.
On Wednesday, the Texas Department of Public Safety identified the victims who succumbed to their injuries as Tyler James, 26; Mauricio Sanchez, 19; Travis Garcia, 19; Jackson Zinn, 22; Karisa Raines, 21; Laci Stone, 18; and Tiago Sousa, 18.
Dayton Price, 19, and Hayden Underhill, 20, the two other people in the van, were in critical condition. Landsberg was not able to give an update on their condition Thursday.
world3 min(s) read
Published 17:46 28 Dec 2022 GMT
The five-year-old daughter of the couple who tragically passed after a collision in Western Australia saved her one-year-old brother's life through one simple act.
On Christmas Day, Cindy Braddock, 25, and Jake Day, 28, died after their Land Rover Discovery staggered off Corrigin-Kondinin Road, in Wheatbelt.
The tragedy left the parents' kids - all under the age of five - trapped in the wrecked vehicle for two days in the scorching heat beside their mom and dad's lifeless bodies.
Despite the desperate search efforts, the family was not found until 55 hours later, when close friends of the couple discovered the stranded car with the children inside.
On Wednesday (December 28), the children were at Perth Children’s Hospital in stable condition. Speaking to ABC, Day's cousin, Michael Read, told the outlet of the kids' grueling ordeal.
He said that without the girl's efforts, the infant would not have survived, explaining: "What I've gathered is the five-year-old became unstuck in the vehicle, and she then got the one-year-old out of the car seat, then they were stuck in the car for the 55 hours in 30-degree heat."
"It would have been hard for the three children to be in the car for that whole time. Nobody knows what they went through," he continued.
"And if it wasn't for the five-year-old undoing the buckle of the one-year-old's car seat, he wouldn't be with us today," he said, adding that the children are "doing fine" and should be released from the hospital within the next couple of days.
The deceased dad's stepfather, Richard Parker, also applauded the brave five-year-old's actions to The West and said: "She's a legend, she always has been... she's a strong little girl."
He also revealed that he had also been out searching for the family and was about 10km from the brutal collision scene when the kids were found alive.
"I appreciate the people who were out there helping us look for them. We'll get through it, we've just got to plod along," he told the outlet.
Day's cousin also shared with ABC that the children were "being loved by family, nurses, and doctors" since arriving at the hospital and that the extended family is now taking small steps in deciding what is next for the orphans.
"It is hard, having three kids now growing up with nobody. Apart from other family members." Read said. "We're going bit by bit at the moment."
According to News.com.au, the family was reported missing on Christmas Day when they didn't show up to a family celebration. They had last been seen leaving Northam, a town in Wheatbelt about 100km east of Perth, at 1:00AM on Sunday morning.
They were making the 200km journey home to Kondinin to spend what was left of Christmas with Day's mother before the tragic crash happened only 10km from their property.
A GoFundMe page has now been created to raise money for the couple's funeral, their children's medical bills, and living expenses. The fundraiser has already raised AUD $27,600 of the $50,000 goal.
Our thoughts go out to the children, and other family and friends of this couple.
uk2 min(s) read
Published 15:40 30 Jan 2023 GMT
A motorist killed a 19-year-old after driving through a red light, and police bodycam footage shows him stating that he hoped somebody died during the crash.
The incident took place on November 18 2022 when 28-year-old Luke Hawkes drove through the lights at high speed before colliding with two cars which resulted in the tragic death of 19-year-old Bethany Branson, per the Daily Mail.
Hawkes was driving a white Ford Transit van in Bridgwater, Somerset, UK at the time of the crash, and in the aftermath, he was held at tazer point.
The footage was shared on Facebook by Avon and Somerset Police, where it shows the 28-year-old refusing to take a breathalyzer test before stating "hopefully I killed them" in reference to the cars he smashed into.
"I hope I killed someone," Hawkes can be heard saying in the footage. "Oh well, you know what, I will get three, four, five years. Hopefully, I killed them."
Failing to provide a roadside sample of an alcohol or drugs test is an arrestable offense, and the courts heard that Hawkes refused to provide these alongside showing no remorse for his actions.
He pleaded guilty to failing to provide a specimen, alongside causing death by dangerous driving. He was sentenced to 10 years behind bars and was banned from driving for 12 years and seven months, as reported by the Daily Mail.
As cited by the outlet, Judge Paul Cook said to Hawkes: "You can tell this was a prolonged, consistent and deliberate course of driving. It was obvious that you were drunk as I have seen the state of your intoxication on a number of videos.
"It was very clear that Bethany was a bubbly and infectious person, destined for a life of giving which has shattered the hearts of the family.
"You created a sea of carnage and then left. You were then heard saying 'I'm glad she is dead, she deserved it' and 'Hopefully [you] killed someone'."
In the police footage, Amy Branson said this about her daughter: "She was thoughtful, she was loved. She always said growing up that she was here for the good times and not for a long time and it's heartbreaking that actually, she was right."
The family was commended by the police on their bravery in the face of such tragedy, and they hope that seeing Hawkes receive a lengthy sentence will give them closure.
Our thoughts are with the family and friends of Bethany Branson.
us1 min(s) read
Published 16:43 31 Mar 2019 GMT
A 21-year-old student who went missing earlier this week has been confirmed dead by her father.
Samantha Josephson was not seen again after getting into the back of a stranger's car, after mistaking it for an Uber. Her designated Uber driver cancelled her ride when she failed to show at around 2am on Friday in Columbia, South Carolina.
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Police have said that the 21-year-old got into a dark-coloured car which was allegedly a Chevrolet Impala.
Despite frantic searching, a day later, her father Seymour Josephson took to social media to announce she had died.
"I will miss and love my baby girl for the rest of life. Samantha is no longer with us but she will not be forgotten. It is extremely hard to write this and post it but I love her with all my heart. I could continue to write about her but it kills me. I sit here and cry while looking at the picture and write this," he wrote on Facebook.
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The university of South Carolina, where Josephson was a political science student, also confirmed the news;
"It is with the heaviest of hearts that I write these words this morning. Our prayers are with the family and friends of Samantha Josephson following the devastating news of her death."
Police have not yet announced how Samantha died, or whether a formal investigation has been launched.
us2 min(s) read
Published 17:41 27 Mar 2023 GMT
Six girls have tragically been killed in a car crash on a Tennessee highway in the early hours of Sunday (March 26).
As reported by NBC News, a vehicle was found upside down with extensive damage by first responders in Robertson County, about 30 miles north of Nashville, just before 2:00AM on Sunday (March 26).
It has been reported that the six girls - who were between the ages of one and 18 - were believed to have passed away after they were thrown out of the vehicle, the Robertson County Emergency Medical Services department revealed.
In addition to this, two adults were injured in the incident, including a woman who was hurt after also being ejected from the vehicle. She was transported by air ambulance to the Vanderbilt University Medical Center while a man who was in the car sustained minor injuries and was taken to the TriStar Skyline Trauma Center in Nashville.
According to ABC News, officials have disclosed that a second vehicle - whose driver was not injured in the crash - was discovered near the damaged car.
The deadly crash took place on I-24 near Pleasant View and Springfield, and a section of the highway was closed for hours before reopening later Sunday. A total of four Advanced Life Support ambulances responded to the scene, along with one air ambulance.
Robertson County Emergency Medical Services Director Brent-Dyer spoke to local outlet WSMV about the traumatic scene, commenting: "It's one of the hardest things we'll ever do, as anybody in emergency services, is to realize that you can't do something for a child. Something like this would shock anybody. We are still human."
While the details surrounding the crash are unclear, such as whether the victims were wearing seat belts or properly restrained, Dyer pleaded with drivers to make sure that children are safely secured in cars.
"I beg people to put your children in the proper restraint devices and I beg everyone driving on the road to think about the outcome of impatience and the outcome of intolerance," Dyer said.
Robertson County EMS has also issued a statement on the heartbreaking accident and revealed that mental health and counseling services for responders have been organized.
"Our office recognizes the incredible difficulty of this scene," the statement read, per People. "Please keep the families and persons involved in your thoughts and prayers."
The victims' identities have not been revealed. The Tennessee Highway Patrol is investigating the cause of the crash.
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