Leeds Council urged to review safety after 12-year-old girl's death on ring road

A CORONER is to urge Leeds City Council to investigate road safety measures on a section of Leeds Ring Road where a 12-year-old girl suffered fatal injures after being struck by a car.
Hoshi NaylorHoshi Naylor
Hoshi Naylor

Assistant Coroner Oliver Longstaff said he would file a report aimed at preventing future deaths after an inquest heard Hoshi Naylor was around 900m away from a pedestrian crossing when she was hit by a Vauxhall Corsa.

Hoshi and her 11-year-old brother Raiden were attempting to walk across the Ring Road close to the roundabout junction with the A57 Wetherby Road just before 6.30pm on January 4 2018, the inquest at Wakefield heard.

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Leeds Grammar School pupil Hoshi, of Monkwood Rise, Seacroft, and Raiden were walking to a shop where Hoshi wanted to buy snacks for a school trip the following day.

Hoshi was taken to Leeds General Infirmary where she died from a traumatic brain injury on January 11 2018.West Yorkshire Police accident investigator Robert Eyre said the Corsa, which was travelling towards York Road, had an average speed just over 33mph in the 40mph zone when the collision happened.

Mr Eyre said the two children emerged from behind a line of traffic travelling in the opposite direction to the Corsa.

Mr Eyre said the Corsa driver Mark Eyles , who braked and swerved before hitting Hoshi, had a maximum of 1.9 seconds to react and take action and was not able to avoid the collision.

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The inquest heard no charges were brought against the driver.

Mr Eyre told the inquest that the nearest pedestrian refuge island was 500m from the accident scene and the closest pedestrian crossing was around 900m away.

Recording a verdict of death due to a road traffic accident, Mr Longstaff said the road was “not especially well lit” and said he would write a report aimed at preventing future deaths to Leeds City Council regarding the provision of lighting and pedestrian crossings in the area where the accident happened.

After the inquest, Hoshi’s mother Emma Settle, said: “We want a proper pedestrian crossing at that site. It’s only a matter of time before somebody else gets killed.”

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Hoshi became a lifesaver following her death when her kidneys, pancreas, liver and heart were donated to four people in need of a transplant.

Miss Settle said her daughter had wanted to become a become a doctor. when she grew up

Miss Settle wrote in a statement read out at the inquest: "I can't describe what this has been like, the pain of what we have been through."

She added: "We donated her organs, which gave us so much comfort."

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A Leeds City Council spokeswoman said after the inquest: "“This was a tragic accident and we’d like to express our sympathies to Hoshi’s parents and family on the terrible loss of their daughter.

" We constantly keep accident sites under review and we very much welcome the coroner writing to us with his findings so we can see if there’s anything that can be done to improve the safety of the junction."