‘We don’t know how we’ll move forward’
We haven’t just lost a child – we’ve lost Emma.’’ S’ean and Karen Warren lost their little girl, Emma, on September 27, when the seven-year-old was killed in a collision with a truck near the intersection of Rata St and Miro St in Inglewood, Taranaki.
Warren said he didn’t know which was more painful – trying to get to sleep at night or waking up in the morning.
It was the second tragedy to befall the family this year, following the death of their 19-year-old son, Tyler Gilbert.
‘‘I just don’t know how Karen and I are going to find a way forward in life after losing Tyler in January and now Emma. We have two older daughters and a gorgeous little granddaughter and to be honest they are my reason to keep going.’’
And Warren’s heart went out to the truck driver and the person who covered his little girl with their jacket and sat with her so she wasn’t on her own, he said.
A petition, which has more than 3,600 signatures, was set up to get the New Plymouth District Council (NPDC) to move the pedestrian crossing where the accident occurred because it was dangerous.
‘‘I know Emma went that way ‘cause she was scared of the trucks and forklifts outside the timber yard in the middle of the road on Kelly St and didn’t like the crossing outside Hammer Hardware. ‘‘We see close calls there all the time.’’ They don’t know what happened that day – police are still investigating – but regardless that crossing was ‘‘bloody’’ dangerous, he said.
Yesterday the council said a temporary Z-shaped chicane-type barrier would be put in at the crossing on Friday.
Pedestrians won’t be able to walk straight into the crossing. Instead they will go through the ‘‘Z’’, which will slow them down. It will also make pedestrians more visible to traffic.
Warren said he wanted to thank everyone who had been working hard in the background. ‘‘I’m just gutted that it takes something tragic to happen before we act on it. So in the light of that if you have any concerns about anything speak up before it’s too late.’’
He said he doesn’t think, ‘‘why did it have to be his ‘darling’ on that crossing’’, he thinks ‘‘why did it have to be any child’’.
But Warren was happy the council was putting something in place, while it worked out what it was going to do to make the crossing safer.
‘‘But I also understand they can’t just shift the crossing without a thorough investigation to make sure that they aren’t just moving the danger to another spot.’’
There are five crossings in Inglewood, and another outside the school, which was not painted, that need looking at, he said.
NPDC chief operating officer Kelvin Wright said the barrier would slow pedestrian traffic and make users more aware that they were entering a crossing.
‘‘This is a temporary safety measure until we get the results of the police investigation into the accident and New Zealand Transport Agency’s (NZTA) audit of the crossing itself, at which stage we’ll decide if any permanent changes are necessary.’’
Petition organiser Adam Fenech said he was really happy to have an interim measure in place while further investigations take place.
‘‘It’s a great result. Others also worked tirelessly behind the scenes setting up a meeting with the council too.’’
Mayor Neil Holdom said he and acting chief executive Alan Bird met with Emma’s parents this week to pass on their condolences for their tragic loss in person, to listen to the Warren’s concerns, and make a commitment to the family to work with them and discuss the next steps.
‘‘Emma’s parents and the wider community have expressed a desire to see steps taken to make our community safer and we are putting in place an interim solution in time for the start of the school term four while we work with police, NZTA, the school and the Inglewood community to understand what happened, what we can learn from it and what and where to from here,’’ Holdom said.
‘‘I’m just gutted that it takes something tragic to happen before we act on it. So in the light of that if you have any concerns about anything speak up before it’s too late.’’ S’ean Warren