'I'm going to miss you more than anything in the entire world' - Floral tributes left at scene of Streetly crash which killed motorcyclist, 17, named locally as 'Theo'
Floral tributes have been left at the scene of a crash which killed a teenage motorcyclist who has been named locally as Theo.
Despite the best efforts of medics and people, the 17-year-old motorcycle rider was pronounced dead at the scene, with his family subsequently being informed and supported by specialist officers from Staffordshire Police.
The area near where the collision happened in Streetly has become a scene of tributes, with flowers and cards and letters all being left and naming the rider as Theo or TJ, and had been the scene of a vigil on Monday night.
There were plenty of emotional messages left to the rider, with one talking about how much he would be missed.
The message read: "You're going to be so missed and the rink, honestly, won't be the same without you.
"I'm so grateful for you teaching me about bikes and I will never forget who taught me about bikes and all of the times I and the group had with you.
"This is such a tragic incident and we all love you so much and will never forget about you. I won't forget you ever or your bikes and I assure you that when I get my bike, I will text you and tell you how my training went.
"When I get to be a biker like you, I will honour you in every single part of my future bike. I can't believe you were taken from us so soon."
Another message said: "You're genuinely one of the best people I've ever met and you never failed to put a smile on my face every day.
"I'm going to miss you more than anything in the entire world."
Residents living nearby spoke of the awful accident that had happened near their homes, as well as talking about how dangerous Thornhill Road could get, with one dubbing it a speed trap.
One resident, who asked not to be named, said: "The collision happened down the road, but it wasn't too far from my house, so I was one of the first people on the scene to try and help him.
"I did my best, but when I got to him, I could see he was unconscious and I couldn't see any signs of life, so there wasn't anything really we could do for him.
"This road can be very dangerous as while this is the first accident around here, there's been a few up the road and people are driving up and down this road far too fast.
"I would want to see speed calming measures or average speed cameras as I don't want to ever see anything like this on a road which is becoming a speed trap."
Brian Beddows said he was still in a bit of shock after the incident and agreed that the road was getting more and more dangerous for speeding.
He said: "It does feel a bit of a speed trap, but you do see a few people speeding up and down here, although I think it's calmed down a bit because of accidents.
"They could do with calming the speed down as there's only really a set of lights at the top and a few park gates, so it can feel a bit like Frogger trying to get across the road.
"I'm still feeling a bit shocked about Friday night and while I won't go into too much detail, it was quite harrowing and really sad as where he ended up was right outside my house, so it's just awful."
Staffordshire Police have launched an appeal for anyone with information and dashcam footage of the collision to get in touch.
A spokesman for Staffordshire Police said: "We are appealing for information and dashcam footage after a 17-year-old motorcyclist died in a collision in the Streetly area.
"We were called at 11.20pm on Friday, August 29 to Thornhill Road following reports of a collision.
"A white Yamaha motorbike and a black Audi TT were involved.
"Officers attended along with colleagues from Staffordshire Fire and Rescue Service and West Midlands Ambulance Service.
"Sadly, a 17-year-old boy, the rider of the motorcycle, was pronounced dead by medics at the scene.
"His next of kin has been informed and is being supported by specialist officers at this difficult time.
"The driver of the car remained at the scene and is assisting officers with their inquiries.
"Anyone who saw what happened or who may have relevant CCTV, doorbell or dashcam footage should contact us on 101 quoting incident number 965 of 29 August."
