Healthcare worker named victim of Coventry hit-and-run collisions | UK News

A cyclist who was one of two people killed in a series of hit-and-runs in Coventry has been identified as Joel Carreido, a 47-year-old healthcare assistant.

His family said he was “a loving husband and father of two” and would be “dearly missed by all who knew him”.

A 33-year-old man has been arrested on suspicion of murder and committed under the Mental Health Act after a pedestrian and then Carreido were fatally hit by a car in separate collisions.

West Midlands Police confirmed the incident was not being treated as terrorism-related and they were not looking for anyone else in connection with the matter.

Two pedestrians were struck at around 8am on Sunday on Gosford Street in the city centre, one of whom, 44, died of his injuries. Police said they were in the process of contacting her next of kin.

Carreido was killed when he was hit by the same vehicle on Woodway Lane, about four miles away on the northeastern outskirts of town.

The driver of the car then crashed into a house on Beckbury Road, where he fled the vehicle, and police called in a drone team and a canine unit to help locate him. The suspect was arrested around 9 a.m.

Flowers and candles were placed at the scene where the Carreido was killed. He was returning home from a night shift at the University Hospital less than a mile away, where he was a medical assistant in the gastroenterology department.

He had two children who left messages addressed to their father. One read: “I wish I could go back in time to at least tell you that I love you one last time. I will try to be a better daughter and a better sister, so don’t worry about us.

The other said, “You were a good dad. Thanks for taking care of us.

Friends and colleagues laying flowers by the roadside described Carreido as a “very happy man” who “always helped people”. “It’s so awful for the family,” said one.

Professor Andy Hardy, chief executive of University Hospitals Coventry and Warwickshire NHS trust, said staff were shocked and saddened by Carreido’s death.

“Joel’s passion for caring for others shone through in everything he did and he left a lasting impression on the patients and families he came in contact with,” he said.

“Although his work was a source of immense pride, it was obvious to anyone who knew Joel that the role he valued most was that of a loving husband and father to his two beloved children. Joel will be greatly missed by all of us and our thoughts are with his friends and family at this difficult time.

Barry Dean, 76, a retired builder who owns the house on Beckbury Road into which the driver crashed shortly after hitting Carreido, said he was watching football in his living room on Sunday morning when he heard a loud bang outside, and by the time he unlocked his front door, the driver had fled.

The accident took away a large part of the front wall of his house and he and his wife will have to live elsewhere until the damage is repaired.

“It was a bit of a shock – it’s not what you expect on a Sunday morning,” he said. “And now we have to move, we have no gas or electricity. But it’s just bricks and mortar. It can be fixed. It’s horrible. I think for them and their families.

Gosford Street, where the two pedestrians were struck, is a 15-minute drive away, through largely residential streets. On Monday, the road through the Coventry University campus had reopened and normal operations had resumed.

A worker at a street cafe, which was closed on Sunday after police cordoned off the area, said news of the deaths had “shivered her” and made the town unsafe. She said: “We didn’t know people had died until we saw it on the news. »

She said she saw sand piled up on the street which she said covered blood after the collision.

The other pedestrian struck on Gosford Street was treated for non-life-threatening injuries, West Midlands Police said.

The force said: “Our hearts go out to the families and friends of those who tragically lost their lives, and we will do all we can to support them during this deeply distressing time. We are not looking for anyone else in connection with what happened and, based on the information we have, it is not considered to be terrorism related.”