'My son, is never going to put his arm around his dad again' - 1,000 people sign Ben's Law petition
The Express & Star's petition for a blanket ban on street racing in memory of two Black Country youngsters killed when they were hit by a 'show-off' driver in a high-performance car has reached almost 1,000 signatures in its first week.
The petition was launched last week after Councillor Damian Corfield called for Ben's Law, in memory of his son who was killed with his friend Liberty Charris when a modified Nissan Skyline driven by 54-year-old Dhiya Al-Maamoury ploughed into a crowd of pedestrians.
The petition can be signed on the website https://chng.it/SxpmYB8gZJ
Two other teenagers suffered life-changing injuries during the crash in November, 2022.
Al-Maamoury was jailed for 13-and-a-half years when he appeared before Wolverhampton Crown Court last year, having admitted causing death by dangerous driving.
Councillor Corfield, who is a cabinet member on Dudley Council, wants to see a national blanket ban, making it an offence to participate, attend, promote or organise street-racing or car-cruising events.
MPs Sarah Coombes and Warinder Juss have also pledged their support for the campaign, along with West Midlands police and crime commissioner Simon Foster.
Following the deaths of Ben and Liberty, a High Court injunction has been put in place prohibiting street racing and car cruising in the local authority areas of Dudley, Sandwell, Walsall, Wolverhampton and Birmingham.
Breaching the ban is punishable by up to two years in prison, but campaigners have said this often only disperses the problem to other areas.
Councillor Corfield said a permanent nationwide ban would make the law unambiguous. He also called for the maximum penalty for flouting the law to be increased to five years.
Ben, of Sedgley, and Liberty, of Upper Gornal, were killed in November 2022, when street racers were using the section of the Oldbury Road between traffic roundabouts with Spon Lane South and Rood End Road to perform circuits.
Councillor Corfield said the event had been promoted on the social media platform Snapchat as a 'static car meet'.
In an emotional interview with the Express & Star, he described the moment he was asked to identify his son's body on a mortuary slab at Sandwell General Hospital.
"We stroked his hair," recalled Councillor Corfield.
"He looked exactly the same. All I wanted him to do was open his eyes and say, 'Dad, am I ok? Dad, you want a hug?'
"The reality is that my son, he's never, ever, going to put his arm around his dad again."
He told how Ben had been due to travel down to Northampton the following day, where he had an assessment as his dream job as a technician for electric car manufacturer Tesla.
He was also due to sit his HGV driving test this month, which would have meant he could ultimately become the fourth generation to join his family's haulage business.
