A petition has been launched to reduce the speed limit on a major Leeds road after a mother and her daughter lost their lives in an horrific accident.
Justyne Hulboj, 27, and four-year-old Lena Czepczor were walking to Lena's nursery on the morning of Monday, January 16, when they were hit by a speeding driver at the Vertu Jaguar car dealership in Scott Hall Road, Sheepscar.
Three people were arrested in connection with the incident including a 26-year-old man arrested on suspicion of two offences of causing death by dangerous driving. More than £30,000 has been raised in a gofundme appeal so their bodies can be transported back to their native Poland for burial.
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Louise Vaughan who set up the Change.org petition wrote: "Last week, a four-year child and her mother were killed by a speeding car on Scott Hall Road. They were just walking to school on a Monday morning. Later that week, a pupil at Carr Manor Secondary school was hospitalised after he was knocked over by a van.
"The A61 runs through multiple housing estates and is flanked by several schools. Yet it is frequently used as a race track by speeding drivers. Last year, I wrote to Leeds City Centre to ask for the limit to be reduced from 40mph, ideally to 20mph and argued that the 40mph created a permissive environment for reckless, aggressive driving.
"I then wrote: Please do not let a child's funeral be a catalyst for this change. That funeral will now take place.
"Leeds City Council replied that 40mph was compliant with the Department of Transport's recommendations. But the people of Leeds deserve their say and we know parents want their children to walk to school in safety.
"The A61 is just one dual carriageway that bisects our city, making it one of the most car-privileged cities in the UK. Many other local authorities have blanket 20mph zones in urban areas.
"Reducing all traffic to the 20mph limit can reduce climate-harming CO2 and people-harming nitrogen oxides by more than 25% compared to 30mph. The time to act is now for a greener, safer Leeds.
Helen Finch, who signed the petition, said: "I walk to work across the A61 every day. Every day I see small children running across six lanes of traffic to get to school. This road is a blight on a residential community.
"It pollutes our neighbourhood and has led to the deaths of a mother and child who were just walking to school. Make our community safe."
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