Young Birmingham New Road crash victims remembered at vigil
Tributes were paid to two young Wolverhampton boys who died in a car crash at a roadside vigil.
The vigil marked the first anniversary of the crash that killed 10-year old Sanjay and 23-month-old Pawanveer Singh and left their mother Arathi Nehar fighting for her own life.
Arathi and her husband Jaswinder were joined by more than 100 family, friends and well-wishers from across the region at the crash scene at the junction of Lawnswood Avenue and Birmingham New Road.
Mrs Nehar is still recovering from the crash, but has just been able to go back to work as a services administrator for a care company.
She thanked everyone for coming out to the vigil and spoke about what it meant to her and the memory of her two boys.
She said: "I'm really thankful to everyone that attended today and it just reassures me how much SanJay and Pawanveer will be remembered by all the community.
"All the love and support that they've given to myself and Jaswinder has been wonderful and we really appreciate all the kindness that's been shared throughout the whole year."
Toys, flowers and other tributes were laid by those present, with school friends of Sanjay joining Arathi and Jaswinder in releasing balloons.
After a moment of silence, remembrance candles were lit and placed with the tributes.
Neelam Pallen, from Birmingham, is a friend of Mrs Nehar's and said that while the event was bitter-sweet because of the anniversary, it was still a wonderful occasion.
She said: "It's just an opportunity for everybody to kind of get together and celebrate the lives of two wonderful boys.
"This means a lot to people to have been here, so it's definitely a fitting tribute because it's about celebrating their lives as well as mourning their loss daily."
Karandeep Mamman, from Wolverhampton, spoke about how he wanted to come and show his respects after hearing about the accident last year.
He said: "It's a beautiful thing when people gather together, because you see how they stick together with their families.
"It's nice to be able to come here and offer love and support at times like these, so I'm very happy to be here today to offer my respects."
