Scattered around a kitchen in south east London are documents and research notes on the dangers of London buses. On the walls, pictures of ‘beautiful’ Ada Bicakci cover any spare space. The flat belongs to Nevgul and Bora Bicakci, the parents of nine-year-old Ada, a popular girl obsessed with gymnastics and Taylor Swift, who have dedicated their spare moments to finding out why their daughter died.
Ada, who had just weeks before won the ‘kindest gymnast award’ at her club, was killed while cycling with her dad and younger brother on August 3 last year in Bexleyheath. Bus driver, Martin Asolo-Ogugua, 23, had swerved into the kerb next to her while high on drugs.
Her younger brother, who was also taken to hospital, and dad witnessed the whole accident. Ever since, the family’s foundations ‘have been broken’, and their home left with a sense that something is missing. Ada’s pictures, toys and artwork all remain, but there is no little girl. The grief in their home is palpable. As she holds onto her husband Bora, Ada’s mum Nevgul tells Metro: ‘Everyone was her best friend. Her school friends now complain that now she is gone, they are getting into fights more because Ada isn’t there to tell them to make up. ‘If she ever saw me crying, she would always come up and wipe away my tears. Now, I can’t stop them from coming.’
‘We took a route we never usually take – I wish I had made another choice’
Ada Bicakci. Photo released August 15 2024. Police have confirmed the name of a nine-year-old girl who was killed in a collision in Bexleyheath.Ada Bicakci lived in the area with her family and attended a local primary school. She also attended a Turkish school in south-east London. She was a Turkish-British national.She was a keen gymnast and swimmer.
Bora and Nevgul Bicakci pictured at home in Bexleyheath, London. They hold a picture of their daughter Ada, who was killed last year by a bus driver who was high on cannabis. Bora tells Metro that the family had taken a route they don’t usually take to try to save a bit of time. ‘We needed to leave the house, but we were all feeling tired that day. I decided we should take a shortcut on a route which we rarely take,’ he explains. ‘I wish I had made another choice.’ As the three were riding along, Bora recalls how he could see the bus on the other side of the road begin to drift. ‘I then remember the bus’s tyres hitting the kerb near us. Then Ada was in my lap,’ he says. From that moment, Bora says his memories of what happened next are a little hazy due to the chaos, but he remembers a passerby called Sam managing to calmly take Ada from her dad’s arms and give the little girl first aid.
Undated family handout photo issued by the Metropolitan Police of nine-year-old Ada Bicakci from Bexleyheath, who died in the afternoon of Monday, August 5, after being hit by a bus on Watling Street, Bexleyheath, south-east London on Saturday, 3 August. ‘I won’t forget her,’ he said. ‘It is hard not be angry at Ada’s death, but there were some people who showed how great humanity can be.’ At the time of the accident, Ada’s mum Nevgul was in a hotel in Surrey with her own mother, who had flown in from Turkey on a visit. Police officers came to the hotel to deliver the devastating news in the lobby that her daughter was seriously ill, and probably would not make it. They promised to do their best to get them to King’s College Hospital, where Ada lay dying from a severe head injury. Nevgul recalls: ‘The whole time in the car I was praying we would get there on time.’ ‘We consider ourselves lucky we got to spend two more days with her. ‘I spoke with her, I slept with her, I hugged her. And I know she heard me. She knew I was there.’ Ada died two days after the crash, and with her organs donated, she went on to help six other people after her death.
‘We are struggling’
After the family were able to say a proper goodbye to Ada as she died, all their efforts went into organising her funeral. Around 250 people attended the service and included some Taylor Swift songs, as they knew how much their daughter loved her. ‘Her favourite song ever was Cruel Summer, which was played out loud,’ Negul explains. ‘It was a hard day, but it really was a lovely send-off.’ Bora and Nevgul Bicakci pictured at home in Bexleyheath, London. They hold a picture of their daughter Ada, who was killed last year by a bus driver who was high on cannabis. The criminal investigation into Ada’s death went smoothly for the family, but as more details of the driver and previous incidents came to light, the more anger they began to feel. The driver was found to have traces of cannabis in his system at the scene and fell asleep at the wheel. He had been given previous warnings on careless driving. But the specialist police officers which supported the family were ‘faultless’, they say. Every day is a battle for the family. The couple’s younger son asks when he is going to get a new sister, and spends his time playing with Ada’s friends at school. Nevgul says: ‘It’s like he’s looking to replace her. He misses his big sister so much.’
‘Why was he allowed to drive?’
Now, the family are doing all they can to make sure no other parent has to go through the heartbreak they have. In their search for answers, it was found Asolo-Ogugua was on probation after other Londoners complained about his dangerous driving. Yet he continued to attend his shifts without question, eventually leading to Ada’s death. In June Asolo-Ogugua jailed for four years and disqualified from driving for seven years.
Undated handout photo issued by the Metropolitan Police of Martin Asolo-Ogugua, 23, who was sentenced to four years in prison at Woolwich Crown Court for causing the death of nine-year-old Ada Bicakci by dangerous driving. Ada Bicakci died in hospital on August 5 last year, two days after the collision in Bexleyheath, south-east London, which left her with "catastrophic injuries".
‘TfL told us he must have “slipped through their fingers”, but this isn’t good enough,’ says Bora. ‘Why was he allowed to drive as normal when he was on probation for dangerous driving?
‘It shouldn’t take the death of a child to get him off the roads.’
Like train drivers, the couple are pushing for Transport for London to test drivers before every shift, and stricter sentencing for those found to have broken the rules. Nevgul adds: ‘If necessary precautions had been taken, this never would have happened. ‘I feel the sentence was very soft. It shouldn’t have been only four years when he took a child’s life away.’ Bora said: ‘We don’t want anyone to suffer like we have. A bus knocks down one person every month.
‘TfL need to surrender to the facts.’ (News: Metro)