TRIBUTES have been paid to a ‘beautiful’ and ‘caring’ teenager who died in a crash on the A38 Kingsbury Road in Castle Vale.
Holly Brown was travelling into Birmingham on a minicoach with school-friends and teachers from the John Taylor High School in Staffordshire when the crash with a bin lorry happened around 9am on Friday (July 7).
The 14-year-old was pronounced dead at the scene.
Her mum, dad and twin sister Emma have made an emotional tribute to her.
They said: “Holly, our beautiful daughter and twin sister to Emma, we are so proud of what you achieved.
“You grasped every opportunity that life presented to you, displaying so much passion, enthusiasm and determination in pursuit of your dreams.
“All this without forgetting to care about people, being there for others and having time for those that needed it.
“We will miss you so much but you will always be in our thoughts, hearts and prayers.
“Love Mum, Dad and Emma xxx”
The school tweeted: “When words are not enough: Hundreds of reasons why Holly was so special, and why our community feels such a loss.
“We are all heartbroken.”
A second teenage girl was taken to hospital with minor injuries and others were treated at the roadside.
The road will remain closed for several hours while collision investigators establish the circumstances around what happened. Both drivers are assisting police with this investigation.
Superintendent Dean Hatton, head of the Central Motorway Police Group, said: “This is a tragic incident which has resulted in the death of a pupil from the John Taylor High School in Barton-under-Needwood.
“The family of the teenage girl has been informed and they are being supported by officers from our family liaison unit.
“We are also in contact with the school and our colleagues at Staffordshire Police, who are understandably devastated as this occurred while their students were on a school trip.”
Anyone with information should call police on 101 and ask for the Collision Investigation Unit.
