Rebekka was killed for the sake of a phone call. Rebekka’s mum, Lynda Hudd, tells her story.
"Rebekka loved helping her older brother to do his paper round. She was waiting for him to deliver a paper when a car mounted the pavement where she was standing and hit her. She was thrown 25 metres.
Rebekka was taken to hospital but we were told there was no hope. Her life support machine would have to be switched off. I could see her heart in her chest, beating fast then slowing down and then stopping. I asked if I could hold her. It was as if she was asleep but she wasn’t. She would never wake up again. I held her in my arms for 30 minutes.
She was only 11 when she died. Part of my life ended there that day. When you lose a child, part of you dies with them.
We found out the driver had been dialling out on his mobile when he mounted the pavement. Rebekka was killed for the sake of a call.
For Rebekka, please never, ever talk or text when driving."
Rebekka’s story, and the astonishing bravery and dignity displayed by Lynda, reinforces our message on the importance of road safety education and standards.
In Rebekka’s memory, and with the support of her family, we have launched a fourth road safety van. On one side, it will display the poster above, produced by our charity partners Brake. On the other it will display the poster produced by Phyllis, one of our Training Academy candidates, who was impassioned to educate people on this important message.
Our road safety vans are normal distribution vans which display full size posters on either side. They spread the road safety message as they go about their normal deliveries.
The vans have also been displayed at the Houses of Parliament, on petrol station forecourts and outside national media offices.
If you have any ideas or suggestions about improving road safety then please contact our Managing Director Stevie Kidd.
You can also sign our road safety petition via this link.
KDS have recently received the Road Safety in the Community Award at the annual Fleet Safety Forum Awards. This prestigious national award has spurred us to continue preaching our passionate road safety message.
2,538 people were killed on Britain's roads in 2008. We will continue to ensure that this figures drops and drops; in Rebekka’s memory.