An 18-year-old girl has died six days after being struck by a loading vehicle allegedly stolen and driven by a group of teenagers in a park in Southend-on-Sea, Essex Police have confirmed.
The victim suffered serious injuries in the early hours of last Saturday at Chalkwell Park and was taken to hospital by paramedics. Police confirmed this afternoon that she had died, with officers continuing to support her family while the investigation into the incident remains ongoing.
An 18-year-old man from Westcliff and a 17-year-old boy have both been arrested on suspicion of causing serious injury by dangerous driving. Both have been released on bail until September.
Essex Police said they were called at around 12.30am on Saturday following reports that a group of people had taken unauthorised control of a small articulated loading vehicle. Detectives have appealed for further witnesses to come forward, noting there were a large number of young people in the area at the time of the incident. Anyone with information, CCTV, dashcam or other relevant footage is urged to contact police, quoting incident 39 of 13 June.
The tragedy strikes a particularly painful chord in the local community, given that Chalkwell Park was also the scene of the death of seven-year-old Leonna Ruka, who died on 28 June last year when a tree collapsed in the park, injuring four other children. Leonna, from Dagenham, had been visiting family in the area and was enjoying the warm summer weather at the time. Despite members of the public rushing to try to lift the tree and the swift response of emergency services, she could not be saved. Her family later paid tribute to her in a statement, describing her as “a beautiful, bright, and loving little girl, taken from us far too soon.”
