Martin Asolo-Agogua had not been to sleep after a night of partying when he turned up to his 8am shift on August 3 last year.
He was seen yawning and nodding off before his bus swerved onto the pavement on Watling Street, killing Ada Bicacki and narrowly missing her five-year-old brother.
The 23-year-old pleaded guilty to causing death by dangerous driving and driving whilst unfit through drugs (cannabis).
On Monday, June 9, he was sentenced to four years in prison.
In the early hours of the morning he sent a text to a friend saying “I’ve got work at 8 so I ain’t sleeping”.
Asolo-Agogua got his driving licence in January 2023 and by January 2024 he was employed as a driver by Arriva.
In his short spell as a bus driver numerous complaints were made about his driving – including occasions when he damaged the bus by hitting stationary vehicles or bus stops.
He was briefly suspended following an incident in May when he stopped too abruptly, causing a child passenger to fall on the floor.
However, he was given “the benefit of the doubt” and his suspension was lifted a short time later.
“My daughter is gone. She was nine years old and innocent. Why is she gone? Because a 23-year-old shirked his responsibility, took drugs, partied all night, and then got behind the wheel of a bus the following morning,” said Nevgül.
Prosecutor Charlotte Hole said Ada was cycling on the pavement on her way to her “much loved” gymnastics class, alongside her five-year-old brother, who was on a scooter, and her dad who was also on a bike.
Asolo-Agogua was driving the double-decker bus “erratically” from the bus garage to the start of its route, Ms Hole said.
One driver in a car behind said the bus was unnecessarily swerving onto the opposite side of the road, whilst another driver said Asolo-Agogua’s driving caused him to blurt out “what is he doing”.
Bora said 310 days later the horrific moment of the crash is still seared into his mind.
He said: “The sound of the tyres hitting the curb. Looking back and seeing Ada’s body bouncing between the bus and the wall.
“Holding her in my lap. Her broken lungs struggling for every breath. Her eyes fading. Her brother behind me, shocked by fear. The bus drifting away. People stopping by to help. Sam stepping in. Hope and then sadness.”
Ada was rushed to hospital where she died two days later.
Nevgül described her daughter as a beautiful child with a kind heart – just weeks before she passed away she donated her hair to The Little Princess Trust saying ‘everyone should have hair’.
“I lost my angel. My Smile. Flutter of my heart. My closest friend. The most beautiful days of my life are the mother and daughter days I spent with Ada,” she said.
Addressing the driver directly, she said: “Martin, if Ada survived she would have said to you ‘I forgive you Martin. It’s ok. It’s not your fault. Everything will be fine.’
“Unfortunately, I cannot say the same. I cannot forgive you. I cannot find a valid explanation for what you did but I truly hope in the future, with time. I will be able to forgive you.
“My only wish is that you learn from this tragedy. You learn and in your future life you educate others so they don’t make the same mistakes you did.”
Bora said: “We seek not just justice for our daughter but a safer future for everyone.”
He said knowing that similar incidents around the corner is causes him as much pain as losing his daughter.
“We hope road death becomes history,” he said.
Addressing Asolo-Agogua, he said: “Martin, you walk in the darkness deeper than any of us can grasp. A weight no soul should hold.”
He said the fact that he took responsibility for his actions shows a “flicker in that darkness”.
Judge Ben Gumpert KC said the reason for the crash was clear – that Asolo-Agogua was tired because he had been up all night.
He sentenced him to four years in prison.
