Phillimore Road crash: No traffic calming measures outside Sheffield primary school where mum was killed

Rita Alexandra Bento Magni was waiting for her children at home time outside Phillimore Community Primary School on Monday (October 4) when she was hit and killed by a car following a collision. She was 30.

Now, frustrated parents have told The Star how the road where Rita died was an accident waiting to happen.

The road has been beset by what they have described as speeding drivers and chaotic school runs for years.

In fact, the entire 300-metre stretch of 30mph road outside the primary school does not have a single traffic calming measure – no speedbumps, no zebra crossings, and no roadside fences.

At every house The Star called at, residents said they had been putting up with fast cars at the junction for years.

One parent told The Star: “The speed on this road, it’s so dangerous.

"I don’t let my daughter play out on the front. It’s been like this for years. It’s a bad road.

"If this accident had happened 10 minutes later I would dread to think how many children and parents you would have had on the road."

Another parent agreed, saying: “I don’t let my son play out the front of the house. He’s getting to 10 years old where he wants to go out and I just can’t because it’s too dangerous.”

In Monday’s accident, Rita was only resting at a bus stop waiting for her children when she was hit by a car following a collision.

Despite the efforts of teachers from the school, neighbours and the emergency services, the 30-year-old mother was pronounced dead at the scene.

It comes after another accident in 2020 at the same junction saw a car flip onto its roof. No one was seriously hurt in the incident.

"People have been saying it would be a matter of time before someone was killed,” said one resident.

"There needs to be a zebra crossing and speed bumps."

Another parent said: “I’ve lived here for 13 years. I come to the school every day. It is chaos at home time. Children and parents have to peek out from between the cars parked on the road. How can motorists see what’s coming?”

South Yorkshire Police has now confirmed that two men, both aged 21, have been arrested over the fatal collision.

Anyone who witnessed the crash or who has dashcam footage of the moments leading up to it which could help with the investigation should contact police by calling 101, quoting incident 486 of October 4.

Sheffield Council has been contacted for a comment on what can be done to address parents’ concerns about traffic calming measures outside the school.