Council chiefs have identified Handsworth as a “high priority” area to curb dangerous driving. It comes after a schoolgirl was hit by a car in the inner-city area on Crocketts Road earlier this month.
Footage of the incident, seen by BirminghamLive, but too distressing to publish, showed the teenager flip over the vehicle before landing on the ground. Miraculously, she only suffered minor injuries in the crash.
It happened on the same street where 28-year-old Sarah Handley was killed in 2019. The mum-of-one was in a car with her cocaine-fueled partner Adrian Paskin, who was behind the wheel when it crashed head-on into another vehicle during a police chase.
READ MORE: Birmingham dad calls for action to make ‘deathtrap’ road safer after schoolgirl hit by car
Ms Handley was pronounced dead in hospital and three others were injured in the crash. Dad Chad Miah, who lives in near Crocketts Road, told BirminghamLive last week he’d “had enough” of “lunatic drivers racing” in the street.
Local resident Chad Miah (pictured) talks about the dangers caused by motorists on Crocketts Rd in Handsworth
(Image: Nick Wilkinson/Birmingham Live)
Mr Miah urged Birmingham City Council to install a pedestrian crossing and speed bumps in the area before another life was lost. He said: “There have been so many crashes here, it’s terrible, but nothing is done about it. Do we need to lose another life in order for something to be done?
“The junction is a deathtrap and the road is being used as a race track by lunatic drivers. My neighbour has had speeding cars collide with his property several times. There are schools in the area, shops, houses, churches, mosques. There are a lot of people in the area, it’s busy.”
Council responds
The authority, which previously declared a road safety emergency, said it is “very concerned” by the number of crashes on Birmingham streets. It has identified Handsworth as a “high priority” area to “reduce speed” and “volume of traffic”.
A council spokesperson said: “We are very concerned by the number of serious incidents occurring on our roads, which has led to Council leadership declaring a Road Safety Emergency. We will continue to work with partners, including West Midlands Police to tackle illegal and anti-social driving and parking.
“The Handsworth area has been identified as high priority for the development and delivery of a Neighbourhood Major Scheme to reduce the speed and volume of traffic on neighbourhood streets and create cleaner, green spaces where people are able to walk and cycle safely.”