'Atrocity not accident': Families of pedestrians killed by drivers running red lights speak out

Sky News

8 hours ago

On the wall of her family's living room, there is a large framed photograph of Alice Williams on the day of her first communion.
It's a short walk from that family home to Alice's grave.
"On her headstone, we've put 'joyful, creative, gentle, kind, bright, loving' because those are the things that we want the world to know about Alice," her mother Clare tells Sky News.
"We don't want them to look at that headstone and think, 'Oh, she only got to nine, I wonder why', because then her killer has overwritten everything she was. And it's not fair."
Alice's killer was 55-year-old Qadeer Hussain who, on a Saturday morning, failed to stop at a red light in Halifax, West Yorkshire, as she was crossing with her mother and brother.
"In front of our eyes he ploughed into her, massively fast, and he carried her off on his wing mirror," she recalls.
"I've just got this very clear image of her being swept off her feet and then she tumbled off and, by the time I got to her, it was almost like she was gone."
In May, Hussain was jailed for eight years for causing Alice's death by dangerous driving.
Her parents have chosen to speak publicly to highlight the deadly consequences of drivers running red lights.
Her dad Chris says: "It seems bizarre that you would take any risks at all in breaking the law in order to get somewhere slightly faster."
"The real risk isn't being caught. It's actually killing somebody," Clare adds.
"He's quite gratuitously killed my child. He slaughtered her in the street for nothing, for no reason at all.
"He battered her to death and any adult should know that when you speed through a pedestrian crossing, there is a risk that you could do that."
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A lack of red light cameras
A Sky News investigation has found that fewer than 1.5% of traffic lights in the UK have red light cameras monitoring them.
Of the 157 local authorities who responded to our request for data or who directed us to their local police forces, many reported no working red light cameras at all.
There are only five in all of Scotland. In West Northamptonshire, the cameras were switched off in 2011 and, in London and Greater Manchester, fewer than 4% of traffic lights have a red light camera.
In Greater Manchester, we also witnessed drivers routinely running red lights at a number of junctions.
Police increasingly rely on dash cam footage submitted by other motorists to take action against drivers who run red lights. The initiative, called Operation Snap, operates nationwide.
Inspector Bradley Ormesher, of Greater Manchester Police, says: "Everyone knows police can't be everywhere, but a lot of motorists now have dash cams, so effectively they are assisting us in delivering road safety messages. We've seen a big increase in submissions.
"There is a bigger picture to everything and just saving a couple seconds by jumping a red light, you're not thinking about wider society, are you?"
Pat Grace was on her way to clean her local church in Oxfordshire when she was struck and killed by a heavy goods vehicle that failed to stop at a red light on a pedestrian crossing.
The driver Dariusz Meczynski fled the country. He was extradited back to the UK and jailed for three years for causing the 74-year-old's death by dangerous driving.
Pat's son Oliver says: "The driver wasn't distracted just for a second, it was a substantial period of time while he was driving a heavy goods vehicle through a village at 9am. It couldn't be much worse.
"It could have been a crocodile of schoolchildren crossing the road and he wouldn't have seen them because he wasn't looking.
"The chances of being caught are so few and far between. I think there should be cameras on all red lights so there is less chance of getting away with it."
Dash cams could help
Oliver and Alice's family are encouraging all drivers to install dash cams.
"We bought a dash cam after this happened," says Clare. "And we've reported four people who went through red lights, and three of them got warnings.
"That is essential because they're going about thinking they're invisible and they're not accountable but actually when they get a warning, hopefully they'll think again.
"It's really opened my eyes to how unprotected we are."
She adds: "We were doing everything we could have done to stay safe. But the only thing that was keeping us safe was a red light bulb and the presumption of goodwill from drivers.
"And I feel like this is being treated dismissively as if it's an accident when actually it was it was a pure atrocity."
Red light cameras have since been installed at the crossing where Alice died.
"I'm glad they're there," Clare says. "Now they've got the cameras and it's cost whatever they would have cost - plus her life, a lifetime of grief, and all the ripple effects that come from a life without Alice in it.
"She filled our lives with light. She was innocent. She was happy. She loved dancing. She loved singing. She loved us. We just can't live without her."