remembering_marie

Marie was a week away from her 20th birthday. She was the youngest
sister in a very close-knit family: with her parents, older brother,
older sister and grand-parents who all loved her, many friends who
appreciated her and a full life ahead of her.

Intellectually, she was a brilliant pupil with outstanding results.
After her Baccalaureate, her teachers instantly advised her to follow
the path reserved for the best pupils, the prestigious French
Engineering Schools "les grandes ecoles". But she did not feel that
this was the right path for her. At age 18 she took charge of her
future and decided to work as an au-pair in England, which she did for
a few months. She mastered the English language and wanted to find out
for herself what she wanted to do.

She enjoyed life in England so much that she decided to stay and
continue her education here. She enrolled at the London Metropolitan
University to study Economics and Politics. She had a very successful
first year and then decided to transfer to a translation course in her
second year. In fact, last month we met up with the course leader who
would have taught her from September 2008. She had already befriended
Marie and deeply regrets her disappearance.

Her intellectual ability did not prevent her from dreaming and hoping
for a better world. She was an idealist who wanted to change the world,
by raising awareness about and fighting against injustices such as
conflicts, poverty and wasting resources.

What she liked about England was that it was the country of freedom of
expression: and she soon found friends who shared her vision of the
world and a boyfriend she loved and who loved her. She always led her
battles with full respect for others and the laws of the country. She
died during the "Week of Peace" whilst on her way to demonstrate
against a weapons factory with a group of friends.

So, we, her family and all her friends, are fighting to prevent young
people, who are making a stand for non-violence, from dying in violent
circumstances and to stop children from being run over on English
roads. All human beings deserve respect and cannot just die like an
animal by the roadside in total impunity.

http://www.sussex.police.uk/pressline/expand.aspx?uniqueid=26064

Tragic road death case settles
12 July 2005

The mother of a road crash victim has received compensation for the violent death of her son. Thomas McNamara was 16 at the time of his death. He was involved in a road crash on 1 August 2003 in Morden, South London. He was killed when he was struck by a car at speeds estimated at up to 60mph, in a 40mph zone.

The car was driven by an Australian resident. As a result of the police investigation, he was convicted of reckless driving, fined £2,500 and banned for 12 months. He returned to Australia after the incident.

Thomas’ mother, Sharon McNamara, was devastated by the accident. Even now, 2 years later, she finds it difficult to come to terms with what has happened. She started a legal claim for the bereavement (bereavement award), and for the shock and grief she suffered as a result of the violent death of her son. The claim has now been settled, before court proceedings needed to be issued. The settlement of the legal action is an important step for Sharon in putting her life back together.

She says: “Thomas was a lovely lad, very outgoing and happy. He was loved by family and friends alike and to lose him in this way has been devastating. I heard about the crash very shortly after it took place because some of Thomas’ friends were with him when it happened. I saw Thomas at the hospital, but I did not have a chance to say goodbye before we lost him.

“The suddenness of his death and the violence of the way that he died are things that I do not think that I will ever be able to accept. I got great assistance from RoadPeace and from the nurse and health visitor at my local surgery, but really it is something that I will have to deal with for the rest of my life.

“The importance of the litigation is not the money – I would give every penny to have Thomas back. All I can hope is that campaigning continues to make sure that the issue of road safety is never forgotten. I would not want anyone else to go through the pain that I have had to go through.”

Leigh Day are proud to support the aims and work of RoadPeace, the charity for victims of road crashes.

Mrs McNamara was represented by the personal injury department at Leigh Day & Co.

For more information, or if you think you may have a claim, please call 020 7650 1200.

http://www.leighday.co.uk/news/news-archive/tragic-road-death-case-settles/?searchterm=roadpeace

– Blood on the Asphalt
It is not surprising that 2007 was once again a year where thousands
of people died on the world’s roads. What is surprising is that little
proper action is taken to deal with this unnecessary hecatomb. A
report published by the International Transport Forum is chilling:
over 150 000 people lost their lives and a further 6 million were
injured in road crashes in the 44 countries of the Forum that reported
data for 2007. What further proof that cars are killing machines is
needed?
http://www.internationaltransportforum.org/

Some of her friends could travel to La Rochelle for Marie’s burial. These pictures are from those short days.

La Rochelle