Dog hit and run: Woman’s grief after “sweetest boy” dies after being hit by van on Sheffield road

Lauren Mitchell, aged 33, was having a cigarette outside her home on Boynton Road, Shirecliffe, and her 17-month-old dog, Hugo, was in the garden, when tragedy struck.

The pocket bully had wandered out of the garden but was said to have had “excellent recall” and was returning back home when he was hit by a white van.

Lauren claims the driver of the van involved slowed down but failed to stop, leaving her beloved pet for dead.

She claims the driver was travelling above the 20mph speed limit for the residential street at the time.

There is some CCTV footage but Lauren is keen to locate any clearer images of the van to help police trace the owner.

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She said: “Hugo had excellent recall and would come back when shouted. He would go on the garden and over to the neighbours. This is something that I’d been doing with him since the beginning.

“He liked to trot up the steps and to the lampposts and he was coming back after been shouted and was nearly on the path when he was hit.

“He was hit with such force that his little body was facing the opposite direction in the middle of the road. Had the driver not been speeding maybe he would have survived perhaps a broken leg but otherwise lived.

“I heard a vehicle then a loud bang and he was laying there. I didn’t see the driver and it wasn’t until the morning after we got CCTV from a few doors up. And it’s a hard watch.

“He may just be a dog to some but to us he was our family. The sweetest boy loved nothing more than being close to us and having snuggles.

“The fact that the driver slowed down after and drove off didn’t stop is devastating. It could have just as easily been a child.

“I’ll forever blame myself. I’ll never get the image of him lying there out of my head and us being powerless to save him. He was extremely well loved and looked after.

“He was such a soft, loving boy. At 17 months he had a full life ahead of him and was the light of our lives.”

“I’m absolutely devastated the driver didn’t stop but after he hit him he slowed down and carried on.”

South Yorkshire Police said: “We received reports of a road traffic collision involving a white van and a dog on Tuesday 10 December at 10.22pm on Boynton Road in Sheffield.

“It is reported that the dog died at the scene and the driver of the van did not stop.

“Enquiries are ongoing to establish the circumstances of the incident.”