Heartbroken family are ‘shattered and lost’ as they pay tribute to ‘passionate’ daughter, 5, killed in horror crash

A HEARTBROKEN family say they are “shattered and lost” as they make a moving tribute to their “passionate” daughter killed in a horror crash.

Minaal Salam, 5, died after she was struck by a grey Volkswagen Touran in Stoke-on-Trent on April 1 while holding her dad’s hand.

The five-year-old was walking with her dad when she was hit by a car

Emergency services were called to the scene around 5.52pm yesterday where they found the youngster in cardiac arrest.

Sadly she couldn’t be saved and was declared dead by paramedics shortly after the horror just before 6pm.

In a statement, Minaal’s family said: “Minaal was a loving, kind and passionate soul.

“She was adventurous; she loved travelling, eating out and shopping.

“She was fun-loving and full of life. We have beautiful memories together.

“The void she has left in our lives is getting wider with each passing day; we are so heartbroken, shattered and lost.

“She was our sunshine.

“We cannot believe we are separated from her.”

The devastated dad was seen running up and the down the cul-de-sac in Stoke-on-Trent with his stricken daughter in his arms.

A family friend told how the dad-of-three works a neurosurgeon at various NHS hospitals across the country.

He had driven home from a night shift in Bristol when he went to pick the girl up while carrying his baby in a portable car seat.

The pal told The Sun Online: “They were all just crossing the road. He had hold of his daughter’s hand when the car struck her.

“The father told me that he had done everything he could to save his daughter but she was limp. 

“He told me that the night before he had saved the life of a teenager and the night before that he had saved another old man’s life but when it mattered he could not save his own daughter.

“The family are broken by this. They are completely numb.”

A 63-year old man from the Stoke-on-Trent area who was arrested on suspicion of causing death by dangerous driving has been released on police bail pending further inquiries.

The dad was seen running up and the down the cul-de-sac in Stoke-on-Trent with his daughter in his arms after the accident