Heartbroken mother of Caitlin-Rose McMullan thanks everyone who signed road safety petition in bid to get 'safety measures in place to protect our children'
The grieving mother of 11-year-old Caitlin-Rose McMullan has thanked everyone who supported her petition calling for more safety measures to be introduced.
It is only two weeks since Caitlin Rose McMullan was struck by a car (March 5) crossing Hillhead Road near Castledawson.
She was returning home from St. Pius X college in Magherafelt where she was a Year 8 pupil.
Since that awful day, Stella McGinn has also started a petition calling for more safety measures to be introduced.
To date almost 9,000 people have signed the petition – See it here
“Had there been a lot more awareness, maybe I wouldn't be sitting here today, and I'm sitting here today obviously to try and save other parents from ever having to go through this tragedy,” she said.
She hopes to put something in place in a legacy to her daughter.
In the petition Stella says: “I experienced a tragedy no parent should ever have to go through.
"My daughter, only 11 years old, lost her life while coming off the school bus.
"It's an incident that has left a lasting impression on me and my family and it is only one example of a widespread and urgent problem: the lack of effective bus safety measures in place to protect our children”.
The petition is calling for “the implementation of effective measures such as bus shelters, better bus codes similar to those found in countries where cars must stop by law to let children cross, and a significant increase in speed awareness around stopped buses”.
"The benefits of these changes are clear. By giving children a safe place to wait for the bus, providing clearer regulations for drivers, and reinforcing the need for drivers to slow down and stay alert near buses, we can help prevent tragic accidents like the one that took my daughter from me.
"It is time we prioritise the safety and lives of our children”.
SDLP Mid Ulster Councillor, Denise Johnston, said that there has been an application in for a bus shelter on the Hillhead Road “for quite some time”.
A spokeswoman for Mid-Ulster Council says that “an application for a bus shelter on the Hillhead Road, several miles from the location of the tragic incident, was submitted to the Council on 17 November 2023”.
She added: “The application is currently sitting with the Department for Infrastructure. You can find out more in the report that went in front of the Council’s latest Environment Committee here.
SDLP Mid Ulster Councillor, Denise Johnston said: "It really isn’t good enough,” she said. “These young people are standing on the edge of a very dangerous road, highlighted by the recent tragedy and council and DfI appear to be procrastinating.
"I have been in contact with council and have asked that they carry out the road safety audit that Dfi have requested.”
Earlier Stella said she and her daughter were “the best of friends”.
"We were inseparable,” she added. “We travelled the world together, had our spas together, did everything. She was my best friend”.
Stella said when the accident happened Caitlin-Rose “was only back from Thailand” and had “already been to Australia, Mexico, Florida, Majorca, Spain and probably other places I can’t remember right now”.
"She has been half way around the world with me and she has had the best life – but she also had a lot more to do,” added Stella.
“I just have to keep going until I get road conditions changed around school buses so no other parent gets a phone call like I did."