Heartfelt tributes have been paid to a “thoughtful and caring” former Edinburgh travel rep after her tragic death in a horror crash.
Rebecca Kirby, known as Becks, died after she was struck by a car when she crossing the road while out with friends on the evening of August 27, 2021.
Her death sparked a campaign to close the road in her hometown of Hull where the collision happened on Friday and Saturday nights and now a coroner is issuing a Prevention of Deaths report to see if safety improvements can be made.
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An inquest was held into the 31-year-old’s death on Wednesday, reports Hull Live. Her loss has left her family devastated. After the inquest, Becks’ aunt Lisa Gage paid tribute. She said: “Becks was such a beautiful girl who would do anything for anybody. We all miss her terribly.
“I still cannot believe I won’t see my niece again. She had her full life ahead of her. She was getting a promotion at Arco and had just bought a house. Her partner has since renovated it just as she would have wanted it.
“If we were feeling down she would just make you laugh. She was a light in our lives. I just miss her laugh which was so infectious.”
The inquest also heard from Becks’ mum Helen Wilson in a statement read out.
She said: “Becks was a social butterfly and a big rugby fan. She had a fantastic life and we love her with all our hearts. She loved helping people.
“It was a tragic accident and we bear no malice to the driver who has to live with this for the rest of his life.” Becks’ partner of six years also paid an emotional tribute in a statement also read out at the inquest.
He said: “Becks was my partner and best friend for six years. She was always the first on the dance floor and the first to open a bottle of Prosecco.
“Becks had a heart of gold which she wore on her sleeve; She put everyone first. We were about to start a new chapter in our new house.”
Becks was born in Hull and loved school where she made lots of friends. Her parents split up when she was five and her mum met someone else but Becks took it in her stride and seemed happy.
“Becks loved our family holidays and when she was 17 we went to Mexico where she managed to swim with dolphins which she had always wanted to do," her her mum said.
Becks wanted to be a holiday rep but when she went to Edinburgh for two weeks’ work experience she realised she missed her family too much. She worked at The Holiday Express in Hull for three years and later went to Arco.
When she was 25 she met her partner who she remained with until her death. They moved in together at her mum’s while they saved money for their own home which they bought on Willerby Road not long before she died.
Mrs Wilson said: “We were blessed to have Becks living with us during Covid. She was such a caring and thoughtful person. She loved working at Arco and she felt really valued there. She later bought her first home with her partner and they were exciting times for her.
The post-mortem found Becks died of extensive head injuries due to the road traffic incident. She had 184mg of alcohol in 100ml of blood – the legal limit is 80mg. The toxicologist suggested that level of alcohol may have impaired her judgment.
Becks was unresponsive immediately after the collision and never regained consciousness. She was taken to Hull Royal Infirmary where she was pronounced dead a short time later.
The driver gave a statement in which he expressed his utter devastation at what happened. Investigations proved he was not speeding and was travelling at 23mph at the time of the collision.
He was also not over the drink drive limit, was not on his phone and was wearing glasses for driving at the time. No charges were ever brought against him. He had been picking up his daughter and friends before dropping them off in the city centre in his Kia Sportage.
He said: “I am devastated by the death of Rebecca. Her family and friends have been at the forefront of my mind ever since. What began as a normal day ended up with an event that has changed mine and others’ lives forever.”
The driver said in his statement that as he travelled along Lowgate he saw a pedestrian on the kerb edge and swerved as he thought he was going to step into the road. There as also an oncoming car and a taxi rank which Becks came from.
He never saw her and suddenly there was a bang and something hit his windscreen. He stopped and got out. When he saw her, he immediately knew she was seriously injured.
He said: “There are no words to describe how sorry I am. I never thought I would find myself in such an incident but I believe I could not have done anything to avoid it.”
A statement was read out from a friend who was with Becks the night she died. They had drinks and a meal at another friend’s house and the three of them went to Old Town.
They had a drink in the Kings pub, then O’Leary’s before heading to Dirty Dicks. They then went to another pub but Becks lost her friends and went back to O’Leary’s to try and find them but they weren’t there. As she crossed the road she was struck by the car.
The friend arrived soon after at the scene but police and paramedics were already attending to Becks. She collected Becks’ belongings and later handed them to her family.
Two door supervisors from O’Leary’s were at the scene at the time. One of them witnessed the collision and both were quickly on the scene to help.
They both said Becks and her friends were in good spirits when they visited earlier that night but were not drunk. But both staff members raised concerns about the safety of revellers trying to cross the road at Lowgate.
One of them said: “In this area it is just an accident waiting to happen. People are leaving bars in a drunken state and some don’t even look when crossing the road.”
The other staff member added: “There is a taxi rank outside O’Leary’s which doesn’t help. It is no exaggeration to say we get six-12 incidents and near misses every Friday and Saturday night.”
Amid the concerns over pedestrian safety around that area of Lowgate, Area Coroner Lorraine Harrison sought a comment from the council over what can or has been looked at to improve safety.
An experimental evening closure of the road at weekends between its junctions with Alfred Gelder Street and Market Place was tried by the council several years ago following similar safety concerns. However, the council eventually reverted back to allowing normal through traffic.
Jason Randle, Hull City Council’s, Head of Place and Highway Infrastructure at Hull City Council provided a statement which said: “Since the death of Rebecca Kirby we have installed speed indication signs and Lowgate is subject to a 30mph speed limit.
“We are also developing our local transport plan which will review speed limits in the city centre. We have also discussed with partners about relocating the taxi rank to Alfred Gelder Street.
“We have looked at closing Lowgate on Friday and Saturday evenings. However, neither the council nor the police have the resources to manage such a closure.
“There is also a pedestrian crossing on Lowgate and we have looked at whether there should be another one but we do not believe it would be regularly used.”
Serious collision investigator Stephen Youngson published a report into the incident. He confirmed the driver had not committed any offence.
He said he had reviewed CCTV which showed Becks notice the car quite late on and put her hand up. But rather than step back she stepped forward. Mr Youngson said: “It seems she made a judgement call but made the wrong one.”
Mr Youngson also outlined the distractions the driver faced, such as the disco lights coming out of Dirty Dicks, the taxi rank and an oncoming vehicle, as well as all the pedestrians. He also pointed out, Becks crossed the road behind the taxi rank which masked her position.
He said: “We spoke to the management of Dirty Dicks who immediately rectified the issue by putting up shields on the windows to prevent the lights illuminating out into the street.”
Mr Youngson was asked whether safety improvements could be made. He said the road could be closed on Friday and Saturday evenings and perhaps the pedestrian crossing could be moved further up nearer to where the bars are He also said traffic calming could be installed and believes the taxi rank should be moved to Alfred Gelder Street.
Speaking after the inquest, Becks Aunt Mrs Gage hopes her niece’s death will not be in vain. She said: “If anything good is to come out of this it’s that the council makes safety improvements on Lowgate. I am a delivery driver and go down there a lot and it is a nightmare of a Friday and Saturday night.
“We would really like the road closed on Friday and Saturday nights but we would be happy if there were other measures taken, such as moving the taxi rank.
“I believe something else will happen as it is very dangerous. It would be like reliving Becks’ death if something else was to happen. Becks paid with her life for a simple mistake.”
Area Coroner Mrs Harrison concluded Becks’ death was due to a ‘road traffic incident’. She also said she will issue a rule 28 ‘prevention of deaths’ report and will be writing to Hull City Council and the Hackney Carriage Association about the issues in Lowgate.
She said: “There are ongoing dangers associated with Lowgate on a Friday and Saturday night. Perhaps the road could be closed during the nighttime economy. People in drink are risking their lives crossing a dangerous road. There are also issues around the taxi rank and available crossings.
“It is not for me to identify what needs to be done but I expect a response from both organisations in the next 56 days.”
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