A close-knit community has been in complete shock after the death of schoolgirl Holly Brown.
The 14-year-old was on a school art trip when the minibus she was travelling in was in collision with a council bin lorry shortly after 9am on Friday morning, July 7.
Holly was a pupil at John Taylor High School in Barton under Needwood. She had no doubt been in high spirits as she was with friends, as the youngsters and their teachers headed off on the trip.
The accident happened in Birmingham. Another girl was hurt and needed hospital treatment for minor injuries. The other pupils needed treatment at the scene. Holly, a keen ballet dancer, was sadly declared dead at the scene.
The teenager was certainly a popular girl; the dozens and dozens of bunches of flowers and tributes outside the school as well as many more on social media are testament to this.
A detailed investigation is now under way in to the cause of the accident. The police will piece together exactly what happened. Work on this began on Friday. Both the drivers of the minibus Holly was travelling in and the Birmingham City Council truck are assisting the police.
If lessons can be learned we are sure they will be. Above all Holly's family need to know what happened to their beloved daughter and why she was cruelly taken from them.
Our thoughts and prayers are with Holly's family, her friends and the school. Over the years the Burton Mail has worked closely with John Taylor High School. We know what a tight-knit community it is and how people there, pupils and staff alike, will be suffering this week.
