A bus driver’s mistake in Piccadilly Gardens killed a woman on a pedestrian crossing
Almena Amica, who was known by her loved ones as ‘Mena’, was using the pedestrian crossing to cross the road when the bus accelerated and collided with her. Emergency services attended, but despite the best efforts of those at the scene and medical professionals at hospital, she sadly passed away as a result of her injuries.
Several passengers and pedestrians also suffered from minor injuries.
In custody, the driver maintained that the incident was as a result of a defected vehicle.
A specialist forensic reconstruction officer conducted an extensive investigation and identified that this was not the case, with his report concluding that it was in fact a result of failure to apply the brakes.
On Wednesday 12 March, Khalid Mahmood from Eccles, pleaded guilty to causing death by dangerous driving at Manchester Crown Square Crown Court.
He has today received a two year suspended sentence and has been disqualified from driving for five years.
In an emotive victim impact statement by Almena’s sister, Mena was described as a woman who was dedicated to her family, friends and faith.
Whilst battling her own cancer diagnosis and recovery, and the recent death of their brother, Mena’s sister said: “It is impossible to put into words the impact the death of my sister has had on me, to translate feelings into words, to convey the sense of the absence of Mena into words.
“Mena was my last living sibling, we had so many plans together, but her future has been taken away from her, and our shared plans have been taken from me.
“The first anniversary of our brother’s death took place just over two months after Mena’s death and without her for support, I mourned two siblings instead of one, alone.
“I regularly have to pass through the area where I am subjected to facing where Mena was killed, forced to relive that very day. When I received the call from police, I could not understand how it was Mena who had been involved in the incident. All I wanted to do was to go in and see and speak to my sister. I wanted to let her know that I was with her.
“Of all our family, Mena spent the most time living in Jamaica and was the best link to our culture and language. Her death results in the loss of a part of our heritage. Our grandson is only three and will not hear Jamaica Patois spoken by a close family member. Mena was planning to read and record Jamaican folk tales for her younger family members so they could hear the stories spoken in Jamaican dialect.
“No words will ever be able to convey the impact of Mena’s death on me. My sister’s death is not a small thing to me.
“On behalf of the family, I would like to thank the police for their investigation and support, and to the charity Brake, for their support. I am also very grateful to all the members of the public who went to Mena’s aid at the time of the incident and for the flowers left in her memory. I will focus on these acts of public kindness when travelling through the bus station rather than the memory of it being the place of death of her sister.“
