The heartbreaking night I lost my 'very good girl' - grieving dad demands action on road deaths

A special event takes place this weekend in Highgate, Birmingham, to mark the tragic loss of four year old Mayar Yahia, run over in a horrific road crash. Her grieving father reflects on a nightmare night.

Babiker Yahia was in the best of moods. It was Eid, spring had sprung in Birmingham, and he was at home preparing to greet his wife and their three children and young baby home from a joyous celebration with nearby friends. A phone call changed everything.

On the line was his nine year old daughter. "She was crying and kept saying Mayar has passed, Mayar has passed. There had been a crash."

The next few minutes passed in a blur. Babiker raced the 100 yards or so from home to Upper Highgate Street to find a horrifying scene. His beautiful four year old Mayar was lying on the ground and his wife was bleeding and badly injured, with two broken legs. His son, seven, and nine-year-old daughter were in shock, with the baby.

READ MORE: Grieving dad's two-word plea after beloved daughter, four, killed in crash

He knew immediately as he rushed to her that Mayar was gone. "The paramedics came and worked on my daughter for ten minutes or more but I already knew she was not breathing anymore. There was nothing they could do. The news was broken to me and my wife together that she had passed."

He said of his beloved daughter: "She was my very good girl. She was good, clever, bright girl, full of life. She was a very good girl. Even at four it was clear she was very bright, the school told us how good she was."

The little girl's joyous smile in a photograph, cheekily making a v-for-peace sign, is now a startling reminder of the impact of bad driving on Birmingham's roads. She is one of 24 lives snuffed out on the city's highways in the past year, including pedestrians, cyclists and motorcyclists - all of them exceptionally vulnerable when pitted against a car or lorry, whatever the circumstances.

Mayar died on April 14 this year. Earlier this week Babiker stood up in front of a full meeting of Birmingham City Council to ask for urgent action to protect vulnerable road users.

READ MORE: Campaigners to reclaim site of horrifying tragedy after girl of four killed

Speaking to Birmingham Live after posing his question, Mr Yahia said the day of the tragedy will haunt the whole family. All of his children saw the tragedy unfold. "They were all on the street. They witnessed what happened, and the emotional effect on them is very hard," he said.

"The school is doing a great job with them, and we are getting counselling help for the children and my wife. It is helping me to get involved in the campaign, I am trying to be strong for them," he added.

He said he was now on a mission to 'keep everyone safe.' "I don't want anyone else to go through what my family experienced. This was not a one-off incident, other children have lost their lives on our roads, and it must end."

He posed his question to councillors from the public gallery at the full council meeting (Tuesday September 17) and asked: "Five months ago our lives were torn apart when my daughter Mayar was killed...they had been celebrating Eid when she was run over.

"We live in Highgate, surrounded by...fast, dangerous roads. Since Mayar was killed nobody from the council has come to find out what would make our neighbourhood safer. I have come today to ask 'what are you doing now and in the future so children in Highgate and across the city are safe as they make their way around the city's streets, so no other family has to go through this intense pain."

In response, Labour councillor Majid Mahmood, whose cabinet brief includes road safety, shared his condolences and sadness for the devastating loss. He said: "I worry too about my children's safety and am committed to making our roads safer, working with partners. That is why we declared a road safety emergency last July."

He said he 'sincerely regrets' the family did not think the council had liaised with them since the tragedy, explaining the authority was not at the time part of the multi-agency 'post-collision response' but that had changed since. Speed enforcement operations had since taken place in the area and the inquiry into the crash itself was ongoing, Coun Mahmood said. "I cannot imagine what you and your family are going through but I am here for you," he added.

Road safety campaigners will take to the street where Mayar died (Sunday September 22) to show the "joy" that can surround car-free roads. Sunday's event will mark World Car Free Day - when towns and cities allow people to experience streets free of traffic as well as making travel easier for those who rely on private vehicles for health and mobility reasons. The fun day will feature food, music, bike rides, arts and crafts, cake decorating, building workshops to produce planters and plaques for the street.

Mat Macdonald, from the organisers Better Streets for Birmingham, said: "This World Car Free Day, the Yahia family, Highgate community and Better Streets for Birmingham invite you to an event in memory of precious Mayar Yahia on Upper Highgate Street. Together we will reclaim the site of a horrifying tragedy from the vehicles that are a constant source of fear, anxiety and danger for residents, and instead celebrate the vast potential of a space freed from traffic."

The event will go ahead on Upper Highgate/Cronybere Street, B12, between 1pm and 5pm on Sunday, September 22.