A minute of silence was held in Leiden for Doris, the 7-year-old girl who died a week ago when she was hit by a bus on her bicycle.
The commemoration was organized by market traders, many of whom witnessed the accident. Among those present was Leiden mayor Henri Lenferink. “This is impressive,” he said at Broadcasting West.
Last Saturday, Doris had to avoid the opening door of a taxi in the old city center of Leiden. A bus driver was unable to avoid the girl. She ended up under the bus and died on the spot.
Came in hard
“You heard people screaming, people fainted. Terrible. Everyone was in tears,” says market trader Soufian Elmarsse. He was one of the organizers of today’s memorial. He also laid a wreath together with a number of colleagues. “It’s tough. There is still a lot of grief and pain because of this huge loss.”
“It’s great that the market committee has organized this,” says Mayor Lenferink. “Many have seen it and were directly involved in it. That hit them very hard. Then it is extra nice that they have done this. I have deep respect for that.”
unclear
The municipality is investigating what exactly happened. Due to the corona measures, the market in Leiden was moved some time ago and the buses follow a different route. The result is that it has become extra busy and unclear on Steenstraat, the place where the accident happened. It is a fairly narrow street where bus traffic travels in two directions, along with taxis, cyclists, pedestrians and (delivery) mopeds.
Market vendor Elmarsse says he has warned several times. “This is simply not possible. We have been sending photos to the municipality for weeks to show how things are going, but so far there has been no response.”
Live in silence
The parents have let it be known through the municipality that they “greatly appreciate the many expressions of sympathy”. They ask for rest. “Live in silence, respect their privacy and, for example, do not visit their house,” the municipality said. During this afternoon’s commemoration, part of the bus traffic was diverted to avoid large crowds.
–
