Mother and daughter killed at a pedestrian crossing by driver who ignored traffic light

A lorry driver, Neville Fletcher, ignored a red light at a pedestrian crossing, leading to the death of a mother-of-two and her daughter. A CCTV camera on the street captured Mr. Fletcher as he ran into 43-year-old Zena Jackson and her six-year-old daughter, Cidalia, near Stanley Street in Spring Bank, Hull, UK.

When Fletcher arrived before the Hull Magistrate Court, the presiding Judge, Jeremy Richardson QC, said that no sentence imposed on the offender can make up for the loss the family has suffered. Fletcher’s lawyer pleaded on his client’s behalf saying that he has been a decent man all his life and that Fletcher does not understand how he ran the red light. The 55-year-old is said to be both devastated and remorseful.

Speaking about her mother, Sadie, the surviving child of the deceased said, "She had a brilliant sense of humour and used to laugh and joke all the time. She was just funny. When you did something bad, she was a real mum, but when you were good, she was like a friend. She loved being a mum, but she was like a kid herself sometimes. I'm going to really miss her."

Sadie also spoke about her sister, Cidalia, in flowery terms, saying; "Cidalia had a great imagination and we only learnt after she died that she had won a writing competition. The story was about a mermaid."

The lorry driver admitted to two counts of causing death by careless driving. He has been jailed for 14 months and banned from driving for five years and seven months.