Princess remembered with other road crash victims

Sep 1 2007 by Vicky Anderson, Liverpool Daily Post

Princess remembered with other road crash victims

THE tenth anniversary of the death of Princess Diana was marked during an annual memorial for road crash victims in Liverpool.

Yesterday’s event saw the release of white doves into the city skyline to commemorate the Merseyside people killed in road accidents every year.

Organised by safety charity Roadpeace, it was held at the Princess Diana Memorial at the city centre Queen Square.

Tribute was also paid to murdered schoolboy Rhys Jones by many of the speakers at the service. A symbolic collection of 52 pairs of shoes representing each victim in the region this year lay alongside pictures of the princess.

Dozens of floral tributes were left by dignitaries and assembled families after speeches from invited guests including the founder of Roadpeace and Merseyside Police Chief Constable Bernard Hogan-Howe.

Dignitaries including the Lord Lieutenant of Merseyside, Dame Lorna Muirhead, and Liverpool Lord Mayor Cllr Paul Clark, mayors from around Merseyside and West Lancashire, and representatives from the emergency services were in attendance.

The memorial was led by school teacher Pauline Fielding, of Wirral. Mrs Fielding’s 18-year-old son Andrew was killed 13 years ago by a hit-and-run driver who was never caught.

She said: “For so many, remembrance has become a part of our lives, so it is appropriate for us all to join together in this special event.

“We also remember Rhys Jones, for as victims of road crashes, we too know the pain of sudden, violent and unnecessary death which Rhys’s family and friends are experiencing.

“We must all make a concerted effort to raise awareness to this daily disaster.

“If one life is saved, our work will have been worthwhile.”

August is Roadpeace’s designated Road Victim Month. The charity praised Merseyside Police for its work in doubling the number of traffic officers in the force over the last 18 months. A message from Attorney General Baroness Scotland read: “I am very grateful to Roadpeace for their work in supporting the victims of road crime, as today we remember Princess Diana and all victims of road crashes.”

Brigitte Chaudhry, founder of Roadpeace and the current president of the European Federation of Road Crash Victims, said the annual memorial service in Liverpool was one of Roadpeace’s key events.

She said: “Ten years is a long time, but in relation to the death of a loved one it is no time at all, as many of us, and Princess Diana’s family well know.”

After the short speeches and a prayer, the doves were released by bereaved family members including seven-year-old Tia Gray, who lost her father in a road crash.

vickyanderson