A CHARITY said it will now be able to help thousands of families affected by crashes after an expansion of its services.
Sussex Police Chief Constable Jo Shiner said the National Road Victim Service, run by road safety charity Brake, does vital work in supporting those who have lost a loved one on the roads.
The service is recruiting 12 new regionally-based caseworkers, and two regional case managers, to support more victims across all parts of England and Wales.
Cheif Constable Shiner, who is also the National Police Chiefs’ Council (NPCC) Lead for Roads Policing, said: "Of course I want to see far fewer families suffer the traumatic, unexpected and often preventable death of a loved one on our roads, but we know that there will be hundreds of families, this year alone, that will need compassionate and professional support when, sadly they do suffer such a loss.
"We must always remember, these are real people not just numbers.
“I am pleased to learn that the National Road Victim Service, provided by Brake, is now able to expand its service to victims and look forward to seeing how this progresses in the coming months.”
The service works with police forces across the country to support road victim's families by working closely with family liaison officers.
The annoucement follows a tragic bank holiday weekend on the county's roads.
Motorcylist Luke Batchelor, 33, was killed in a crash on Fox Way, Portslade on Saturday, April 16.
Emergency services were called following the collision involving two motorcycles – a Suzuki GSX 750 and a Kawasaki 600 – and a brown Mitsubishi Outlander.
In the early hours of Easter Sunday, emergency services were called to Kings Road, Brighton following reports of a crash involving a blue BMW car and a pedestrian.
The pedestrian, a 28-year-old woman, was taken to the Royal Sussex County Hospital in a critical condition.
Yesterday, police confirmed an 80-year-old man from Peaslake, Surrey, died in a crash on the A24 at 7.45pm on Easter Sunday.
A woman, 69, sustained life-threatening injuries in the crash and remains at the Royal Sussex County Hospital.
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules here