​Father of Millie Taylor-Noonan calls for better road safety measures

Following the conclusion of the inquest into Millie’s death on 25 September 2019 her father Obadiah Light said he hopes that measures to make the area where Millie died safer for pedestrians will be put into place.
 
Millie had gone for a walk with her friend and was on her way back to Sir William Robertson Academy in Welbourn when she crossed the road and was hit by a car.
 
The Coroner concluded that Millie’s death was due to a road traffic collision and told the court that he planned to issue a prevention of future deaths report addressed to Lincolnshire County Council, the Highways Agency and the Secretary of State for Transport highlighting his concerns over the dangerous conditions of the road in the area where Millie died.
 
Millie was born in Cornwall before moving to Sleaford in Lincolnshire, where she lived until she was nine years old and moved back to Cornwall with her father. She loved the beaches in Cornwall and showed a keen interest in environmentalism from a young age, including taking part in many beach cleaning activities. She played an active part in the community in Cornwall and had a wide circle of friends. She loved to walk and swim and took part in many after school sports activities with her friends, at Cape Cornwall School, in St Just. She moved back to Lincolnshire in 2016 to spend time with her mother.
 
Before she died Millie was completing her A-Levels and was planning to go to university in Wales to study to be an environmental scientist.
 
Obadiah said after the inquest:
 
“I am pleased that the inquest process has been able to answer some of our questions and give us a great understanding of the circumstances around Millie’s death. It is clear that the stretch of road is very dangerous, and we agree wholeheartedly with the Coroner that something must be done to make it safer and to stop anyone else from getting hurt.
 
“Millie is a huge loss to our family, she was a caring and intelligent young woman who had a bright future in front of her. She was so passionate about the environment and even when she was very young she would be the one who reminded me about the recycling and loved working on our allotment in Cornwall.  I am sure she would have carried on her environmental activities and would have gone on to make a significant contribution to helping heal the planet.
 
“Millie had a great life and was loved and cherished by all those that knew her, particularly her friends and neighbours growing up in Sleaford and Cornwall. We were all lucky to have had her in our lives.”
 
David Preston, solicitor from Leigh Day representing Mr Light said:

“We are pleased that the Coroner has conducted a thorough investigation into the tragic circumstances of Millie’s death and that he was able to provide Millie’s family with answers to some of their questions. We await with interest the Coroner’s prevention of future deaths report and the responses from the Local Authority, Highways Agency and Secretary of State for Transport. We continue to investigate a civil claim for compensation on behalf of Millie’s family.”