Vigil braves cold winter evening to honour memory of man killed in tragic crash

Family members and residents gathered at Darwen Town Hall on a windswept Sunday evening on in memory of a pedestrian in his 70s named locally as Peter, who died after the tragedy on December 9.

The candle lit event was organised by Darwen Community Helpers founder Samantha Nye and as well as remembering Peter also, called for more to be done on to make the road safer.

She said: “We’re here to honour the memory of Peter who recently tragically passed away on Bolton Road.”

Samantha Nye had organised the event (Image: Phil Taylor)

She added: “We’ve got a currently got a petition going and its got nearly 800 signatures so that really does show people’s dedication.

“We just want the council to know that this is not going to go away, they need to protect the safety of the residents as well as people who visit from out of town.”

Candles were held in Peter’s memory (Image: Phil Taylor)

Ms Nye led a moving ceremony that included a reading of the poem To Those Whom I Love and Those Who Love Me and a service by the Reverend Kevin Colyer.

In attendance were people from across the town along with Peter’s partner and family members.

Flowers were left at the town hall and at Bolton Road (Image: Phil Taylor)

Darwen Community Helpers Volunteer Valerie Bury who attended the vigil said that the whole town had been affected by the tragedy that struck on Bolton Road on December 9.

She said: “On the day that it happened, it was like the whole town had a cloud hanging over it, people were just coming into the shop in shock.”

But she said that this also showed the depth of care and support for each other that runs through the people of Darwen.

Tributes were paid and candles were laid down (Image: Phil Taylor)

She said: “We see it working in the shop, we see the great community spirit with people helping each other and always wanting to help.”

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Fellow volunteer Debbie Roberts said that Bolton Road had long been a cause of concern but hoped that the support people had shown to Peter’s family could prompt action.

She said: “It was really an accident waiting to happen and now it’s taken this to show that.

“But we’ve seen that there’s a real community spirit as well.”

The petition can be found by searching Implement Urgent Safety Measures on Bolton Road for Pedestrian and Driver Safety on Change.org.

Source – INDIA TV