Woman killed in traffic accident - Brixton Hill 22nd of April

[Mind]

Who knows how it really happened though, hey? Not the cleverest of ideas to dance about in the traffic. I doubt the van driver is feeling great about what happened.

Exactly.

What is shocking is that no one is asking the obvious questions.
1) Why did the large family she obviously had leave leave her to roam around on the streets when she had a mental health disorder?

2) Why did social services feel this woman would be better off drinking heavily in the town centre rather than being in care and nursed to health?
They clearly knew she was not in a state to look after her children.

3) Why didn't members of the local community stop her from jumping and dancing in front of traffic so often? It wasn't the first time she had done so.
The fact is that to them she was merely a source of amusement.
Ha! Ha! Isn't Naomi such a character, look at the way she jumps in front of dangerous Brixton traffic. The average pedestrian is so careful as drivers around here are a bit rough, but I bet Naomi gives those drivers a right fright, ha ha ha! " they no doubt said.

And now she is dead.

Isn't it frightening how those so quick to jump to the conclusion that the driver deliberately killed her had seen her dance in front of traffic countless number of times and did ABSOLUTELY NOTHING to stop her?

Now like a medieval lynch mob they are looking for the outsider just passing through to lay the blame on and punish rather than examining themselves and asking "What could I have done to prevent this?"

Sickening stuff.

 

[ovaltina]

1) Why did the large family she obviously had leave leave her to roam around on the streets when she had a mental health disorder?

Mind, this bit of U75 comes up when you search google for naomi and brixton. You don't need to be logged in to read the Brixton forum. Her family and friends might well read it. Do you really think it's a good idea to discuss this on the internet where anybody could read it?

 

[Blagsta]

Mind - what makes you think that Naomi could have been sectioned? Because that's what you're talking about.

From my recollection from past discussion with you, you're not the most...ermmm...understanding person when it comes to mental health anyway, so I find it rather ironic that you're getting het up now!

 

[Mind]

Mind, this bit of U75 comes up when you search google for naomi and brixton. You don't need to be logged in to read the Brixton forum. Her family and friends might well read it. Do you really think it's a good idea to discuss this on the internet where anybody could read it?

What an odd thing to say. Do you really think that people must be protected at all costs from any assertion that they did not take responsibility when they should have?

Good grief.
It's been well over 6 months, there are no family names, no personal addresses, just a question asking why they abandoned their daughter/partner/sister/ and you think they must be spared that too?
Are you for real?

These are questions that they should ask themselves.
They MUST be examining their consciences as should everyone who saw that woman, laughed and assumed that someone else was responsible.

But no, let's not ask any difficult questions. The important thing here is that nobody feels bad that someone has died or does any sort of thinking that might prevent this sort of thing happening again in our area.

Instead let's all go have a pint in the pub in Naomi's memory and have a rant at Daily Mail readers/ white van drivers/ the police /the system - because that's what we do around here isn't it?

That's what makes everything ok.



Pathetic.

 

[ovaltina]

Pathetic.

This is a real person who died and there are real people affected, who will be going through emotions you can barely imagine.

Villifying and even explicitly blaming the family on an open bulletin board is a nasty thing to do. And for what - some point about 'she should have been helped'? straight back at you.

 

[Mind]

This is a real person who died and there are real people affected, who will be going through emotions you can barely imagine.

Thanks, but they are not emotions I can barely imagine.
They are things that I have been through myself before and is the reason why I work with in the voluntary sector, although with younger people not adults with mental health issues. I mention my work frequently in my posts.

And for what - some point about 'she should have been helped'? straight back at you.

Yeah whatever, It is people like me who work dealing with the fallout of situations like this. So excuse me if I sound a tad sanctimonious, but I don't need to be lectured by people who spend their lives on urban75 having a chat because I am offending the purity of the messageboard.

So save your "straight back at you" for someone who is waiting for your validation.

Has it ever occurred to you that it is because people keep silent rather than speaking out against the families that some people never wake up to their responsibility?

If writing on the messageboard means that another relative of a person living on the street wakes up to that responsiblity then it would have been worth it.
Nothing can be done to save Naomi now. Rather than worrying about what her family might think if we point out THE OBVIOUS TRUTH to them think about who else is out there that can be helped and save your crocodile tears and faux-compassion.

 

[ovaltina]

THE OBVIOUS TRUTH

Is that you should be exposed as a moron, for reasons that are too fucking obvious to explain.

And now I'm in a bunfight too. I'm leaving the thread.

 

[Blagsta]

I work with in the voluntary sector, although with younger people .

 

[Jonti]

You make the mistake of thinking that I give a shit what your sentiments are.

I can read. You've gone to great lengths carefully to choose your insulting and shit-stirring words. Not what someone who honestly doesn't give a shit would do.

You silly old goat

 

[Jonti]

... Do you actually have any real knowledge of her friends and family ... ?

Well?

 

[nick h.]

This thread is getting uncomfortably close to apportioning culpability to people other than the Serco driver who is charged with murder. His trial starts on April 27th. Hadn't we better keep quiet until the verdict? I'm sure the circumstances which led to Naomi being in the road will be dwelt on by the defence, so the last thing we need is for Urban to be spreading mis/disinformation. Maybe mods should do some pruning.

 

[pboi]

why keep quiet? we dont influence anything.


talk about self importance

 

[Crispy]

We get quoted in national papers, many journalists read the boards and use posts here as sources for stories. It can and does happen.

 

[nick h.]

Well, there's this thing called a "jury", which is why there's a sub judice rule. And Urban posts tend to appear at the top of Google searches. For example: http://www.google.co.uk/search?hl=en&q=naomi+serco+murder&btnG=Google+Search&meta=

 

[SK.]

I see there has been an update to this sad story and the court case for the Driver is currently underway

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/london/8021298.stm

 

[nick h.]

The case is predicted to take 3 weeks.

 

[steveblue]

To keep this balanced, here is the defence case from PA newswire

A prison van driver on trial for murder after running over a woman who walked
into the path of his vehicle told a jury today that he could not see her.
Andrew Curtis, 49, was behind the wheel of the Serco prison van when it ran
over and killed Nyaraui Benjamin, 34, in April last year.
Jurors have heard that "eccentric" Miss Benjamin danced in front of the
vehicle at a busy junction in Brixton, south London.
Curtis told the Old Bailey that he twice sounded his horn after he had been
forced to stop when she blocked his way.
He said she walked towards him and "thumped" the front of the vehicle, threw
him a "prankish smile or kiss", and pulled up a windscreen wiper.
Curtis said he had already considered whether it was a "decoy or ambush" and
decided it was not.
He said he last saw her to the left side of his vehicle and believed she had
moved on to the pavement when he drove off.
"If she was in front of my vehicle as we now know I could not see her and I
did not see her," said Curtis.
"I was satisfied she was no longer in front of my vehicle."
A witness's claim that he accelerated towards Miss Benjamin when she held up
the windscreen wiper was "definitely and quite categorically not the case", he
said.
Evidence from another witness that her hands could be seen held up in front of
the vehicle was a "mistake", he added.
Judge Martin Stephens asked him about what he had done to take into account the
presence of the "eccentric person" in front of him.
Curtis said: "It depends on what they are doing. The fact that it was only a
windscreen wiper - it didn't give me any further cause for concern."
The driver, of Orpington, Kent, denies murder and an alternative charge of
manslaughter.

 

[ricbake]

Not Guilty - ??????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????



http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/london/8043950.stm

 

[nick h.]

That's a surprise. I thought his defence (as reported earlier in this thread) was rather weak and would be contradicted by witness statements and video showing him rocking on the clutch to frighten her away. The police expended vast resources on investigating this, and now.....nothing.

 

[RaverDrew]

cunt

 

[jæd]

That's a surprise. I thought his defence (as reported earlier in this thread) was rather weak and would be contradicted by witness statements and video showing him rocking on the clutch to frighten her away. The police expended vast resources on investigating this, and now.....nothing.

People should be convicted based on the level of outrage on U75...! Anything else is a travesty of teh justice...!

 

[agricola]

That's a surprise. I thought his defence (as reported earlier in this thread) was rather weak and would be contradicted by witness statements and video showing him rocking on the clutch to frighten her away. The police expended vast resources on investigating this, and now.....nothing.

I know, and to not even get a manslaughter conviction is somewhat bizarre given the reported facts, but then of course we dont know everything about the case, what the jury did and did not see etc.

 

[nick h.]

The Worthing Herald says "the jury queried whether murder and manslaughter were the only charges applicable to the case". It seems they were. Does that mean the CPS were confident that nothing less than manslaughter was appropriate?

 

[ricbake]

Fair enough.. I did a bit more reading and I can see what you meant. Not sure as I'd see it as good news, though.

The impression I was getting from the reports was that the driver didn't know she was still in front of his van.

Have they let him off yet?

i dont care how it looks. i do care about the people hanging about all day taking drugs / getting pissed and falling into vans

She didn't fall into a van. She was dancing in front of the stationary vehicle and then it ran her over. That's why the driver was arrested on the charge of murder. The allegation is that it wasn't an accident.

Who knows how it really happened though, hey? Not the cleverest of ideas to dance about in the traffic. I doubt the van driver is feeling great about what happened.

I do not think that justice or Naomi have been treated well by this trial and it really isn't a surprise that it has come out this way. I don't believe it was appropriate to make the charge murder, perhaps manslaughter. Naomi was killed by dangerous driving, the idea that she fell or threw herself under the van is ridiculous. I do not think that any good would have been served by locking up the driver, but I do beleive his aboration cost Naomi her life and I believe he was at fault and this trial has now vindicated him.

Bit sad all round

RIP Nyaraui Benjamin

 

[nick h.]

The CPS must have thought there was intent to go for the murder charge. I wonder why? Perhaps they thought the driver could see her and lost his temper? I don't suppose we'll ever find out. This will all go into the Brixton rumour and conspiracy mill.

 

[lighterthief]

I do not think that any good would have been served by locking up the driver, but I do beleive his aboration cost Naomi her life and I believe he was at fault and this trial has now vindicated him.

You are entitled to your opinion and the jury - who we can only assume heard the facts of the case throughout the trial - are entitled to theirs.

 

[Bahnhof Strasse]

The CPS must have thought there was intent to go for the murder charge. I wonder why? Perhaps they thought the driver could see her and lost his temper? I don't suppose we'll ever find out. This will all go into the Brixton rumour and conspiracy mill.

Maybe as has been stated earlier in the thread and elsewhere the driver went 'no comment' so the CPS threw the highest charge at him and waited to see if anything stuck?

 

[GarveyLives]

Naomi Benjamin
Rest in Peace​