by Cam Lucadou-Wells
A heart-broken mother has appealed for dashcam footage following her three-year-old daughter being fatally injured when struck by a car in Endeavour Hills.
Wenna Lin posted on a social media group that her daughter Mila “didn’t run into the street” while crossing at a pedestrian crossing with family on Heatherton Road, near the corner of James Cook Drive, about 8.30am on Thursday 17 October.
“I can see Mila’s face looking so worried every time I close my eyes. I know she didn’t do anything wrong.
“Please trust me. She has always been a good girl and loved following the rules.
“Please if anyone see the truth let the police know.
Major Collision Investigation Unit detectives charged a 24-year-old man with one count of dangerous driving causing serious.
Police say they will consider further charges following the death of the child.
Meanwhile, Casey Council independent candidate Melinda Ambros implored action to avoid a repeat fatality on the “dangerous” 80 km/h section.
“My only hope was for this precious child to return home to her family, where she belongs, and now, learning that the family has lost their little girl Mila, I’m deeply saddened.
“ There are no words that can truly capture the grief I feel for them during this heartbreaking time.”
She said the community was calling for “real solutions: safer traffic light setups, speed reduction measures and better signage to slow drivers down before the intersections”.
Ambros said the road’s steep hills encouraged speeding, the pedestrian traffic lights malfunction and there were inadequate traffic controls at the busy intersection.
An online petition was launched for a pedestrian bridge in the area – which is a thoroughfare for children at nearby James Cook Primary School and Endeavour Hills Specialist School.
“The number of incidents here shows that changes are long overdue,” Ambros said.
“ In recent years, we’ve lost residents on nearby roads, including an 87 year old elderly man in 2023 and a 63 year old woman in 2021.”
According to police, the young girl was crossing Heatherton Road at a pedestrian crossing with family when she was struck by a car.
She was taken to hospital in a life-threatening condition and was announced the next day to have died.
The driver of the car stopped at the scene and was arrested by police.
The Endeavour Hills man was bailed to appear at Melbourne Magistrates’ Court on Wednesday 23 October.
