'Her little girl goes to the door everyday to plead for Mama to come home'

COURT HEARS THE AGONY OF HIT-AND-RUN VICTIM’S FAMILY

- Ross Lydall

THE devastating harm caused by dangerous drivers was laid bare today as the family of a young London mother told how their lives had been “torn apart” by her death in a hit-and-run.

Gao Gao, a 36-year-old mother of two and “brilliant” professional fundraiser raising millions for research into dementia, suffered multiple injuries when she was hit by a driver speeding at almost 50mph in a 20mph residential street in Hackney as she cycled home.

Her one-year-old daughter, who was being breastfed at the time, still goes to her front door daily to plead for her “Mama” to come home, according to victim impact statements read in court. Her son, four, is too frightened to continue cycling to school and asked his father, photographer Luke Walker, to stop using his bike in case he is killed.

Last week the Standard revealed the number of hit-and-run collisions had hit a record high in London, with more than 7,700 in the most recent year. A City Hall investigation this week will ask the police why more is not being done to tackle a growing “epidemic” of lawlessness on the capital’s roads.