Charlotte Adams

Charlotte Adams, a five-year-old girl from Lower Clapton, east London, was killed in a horrific hit-and-run on 15 December 2005, just two weeks before Christmas. She and her mother Jean were walking home from a children’s Christmas party with her father Martyn when Emmanuelle Amoah, a 20-year-old unqualified driver with no licence, lost control of a friend’s unroadworthy BMW.

Amoah mounted the kerb, smashed through a brick wall and careered down a grass bank where the family was walking. Charlotte was dragged under the car for 25 yards. Amoah kept revving the engine in an attempt to free the stuck vehicle, forcing it deeper into the mud and crushing her. Her mother was thrown clear but suffered severe injuries and was left using a wheelchair. Charlotte died at the scene. 

Amoah fled the scene, showed no remorse and went on an armed robbery spree before being caught. He admitted causing death by dangerous driving and multiple robberies. He received a substantial custodial sentence (the maximum for causing death by dangerous driving at the time was 14 years, which the family said was not enough). The case devastated the Adams family, who described their lives as ruined.

Rest in peace Charlotte. You will not be forgotten.