More killed due to safety delays at site of crash Wait for speed cameras ‘unacceptable’, say family of victim
THE heartbroken family of a mum-of-two killed in one of Birmingham’s worst-ever road crashes claim more lives have been needlessly lost.
Sign language interpreter Lucy Davis, was one of six people killed in the horrific Belgrave Middleway smash on December 17 last year.
She was a passenger in a taxi which was hit by an Audi S3 as it was driven at speeds of around 100mph in a 40mph zone by a former convicted drug dealer who had previously led police on a car chase.
A year on from the tragedy, Lucy’s brother-in-law Tony Worth warns that delays in setting up speed cameras have already resulted in more tragedy.
He branded the long wait for cameras in and around the underpass ‘totally unacceptable’.
“The last year has been absolutely horrific,” says Mr Worth. “Every day we have to live with the effects of someone driving irresponsibly on a notorious stretch of road. As a family, we are finding it very difficult. Lucy’s parents, her children who are schoolage, my wife and our children – we are all struggling to cope.”
It was in the early hours of December 17 last year that Lucy, 43, was returning home from a Christmas night out with partner Lee Jenkins, 42. Lee was a nuclear scientist from Harborne, who had a passion for music. Friends described him as a “scientist by day and a rock and roll star by night”.
Lucy’s family believed the two were a perfect match, that she had perhaps met her Mr Right. They were making plans for the future. But all that was left in ruins on the fateful night.
The couple were passengers in a black cab driven by Imtiaz Mohammed, 33, when the oncoming Audi S3 careered into them at horrendous speed. All three were killed.
An inquest later heard how Audi driver Kasar Jehangir lost control of the car as he tried to negotiate a bend between Lee Bank and Belgrave Middleway.
The 25-year-old was killed alongside passengers Mohammed Fahsha, 30, and Tauqeer Hussain, 26.
Zakkria Khan, also a passenger in the Audi S3 vehicle, was the only survivor but was seriously injured.
The inquest into the six deaths gave the cause of the collision as ‘driving at excessive speeds through a shallow left-hand bend on a road with a 40mph speed limit with defective tyres’.
Jehangir was also found to have smoked cannabis before the incident, which could have contributed to the manner of his driving.
Lucy’s family have since spent the past 12 months battling for road safety measures to be installed on Belgrave Middleway, a notorious accident blackspot.
Birmingham City Council says that the necessary work is ‘under way’ but has not yet been completed.
A council spokesman said: “Work to install speed cameras is ongoing and due to end imminently.”
But that is of scant comfort to Lucy’s family as the accidents have continued to mount up. There have been two more deaths since Lucy’s passing.
In October, a 23-year-old pedestrian was killed in a hit-and-run accident on the same stretch of road.
And earlier this month, a 38-yearold was killed after being struck by a car on the route.
Meanwhile, police are still catching drivers speeding through the scene of the taxi tragedy, disregarding repeated warnings about the danger.
Mr Worth believes that the lives of both the recent victims could have been saved if the cameras had been installed.
“The delays to install the speed cameras are totally unacceptable,” he says. “Had they been set up sooner, they could have saved the lives of the two people killed there recently in hit-and-runs.
“It is totally inefficient. We presented a petition to the council back in February and it has taken ten months for work to begin. We have also spent the last year pushing for a central reservation to be installed at the scene, but the council has told us that stretch of road isn’t suitable.
“A central reservation would have saved the lives of Lucy and Lee, without a shadow of a doubt.” BELGRAVE Middleway has a poor reputation as a racetrack for idiotic drivers by night.
But it is also used at high speed by motorists rushing around the city during daylight hours, too.
Last week, police caught a shocking number of drivers flouting the 40mph speed limit at the site of last year’s crash.
During a road safety blitz, no fewer than 15 motorists were caught speeding, one of them at 68mph.
West Midlands Police Road Harm Reduction Team tweeted: “Evening rush hour speed and drink-drive check on Belgrave Middleway in heavy traffic by the team. No positive breath tests but unfortunately 15 prosecutions for excess speed. 68mph was the worst offence and two seizures for no insurance.”
The initiative was the latest in a series of checks carried out in Belgrave Middleway.
In May a motorcyclist was caught racing at 91mph. The biker was one of 50 road users snared by police just months after the 2017 underpass tragedy.
And in August a driver was clocked speeding at an astonishing 94mph at the scene.
Officers from the Road Harm Reduction Team called the speed ‘completely unacceptable’ and said they would be returning to the spot in a bid to catch dangerous drivers.
A central reservation would have saved the lives of Lucy and Lee, without a shadow of a doubt Tony Worth