RoadPeace was honoured to attend the unveiling of a beautiful new memorial for road crash victims at Hartshill Hayes Country Park in Warwickshire last week.

Funded by Warwickshire Road Safety Partnership, the memorial was carefully crafted with a decorative emblem featuring a tree of life, inscribed with: ‘Remembering lives lost and injured on our roads in Warwickshire’.

It sits as part of the park’s commemorative wood and offers families a peaceful location to remember family members, friends or colleagues affected by a road traffic collision.

Many people attended the unveiling, including senior police officers and fire firefighters, along with bereaved families and crash victims.

The memorial was unveiled by RoadPeace member, Sharron Huddleston, whose daughter Caitlin was killed as a passenger in a road traffic collision six years ago.

Speaking at the unveiling, Rebecca Morris, Head of Communications at RoadPeace, the national charity for road crash victims, said: “In 2022, almost 30,000 people were killed and seriously injured on the UK’s roads.

“Many people do not realise just how many people are affected by road crashes, until it happens to them. It is vital for us to raise awareness of the risks we all face when we use the roads, and of the devastating physical and mental impact that collisions have on individuals, families and communities. 

“This beautiful memorial not only provides a symbolic place for people to visit to remember their loved ones, but it also reminds visitors to the park of the many people who have sadly lost their lives on Warwickshire’s roads over the years.”

Updated on: 14 July 2023