A girl has died after being hit by a car in a New Year’s Eve road collision in Sandwell.

The 14-year-old was in Station Road, near Rowley Regis railway station, at around 4.45pm yesterday when she was struck by a grey Mercedes.

Paramedics attended the scene but tragically there was nothing could be done to save the girl and she was pronounced dead just before 5:30pm.

Her family have been informed and a specialist Family Liaison Officer will be deployed to offer them support.

The driver, a 39-year-old man, stopped at the scene and was arrested on suspicion of causing death by driving while under the influence of drugs. He remains in police custody this morning. Sergeant Julie Lyman from the Serious Collision Investigation Unit, said:

“This is a truly awful way to start the New Year and my heart goes out to the girl’s family and friends.

“We’ve started an investigation to understand what happened and the driver has been arrested as we believe he was driving while unfit through drugs.

“The investigation is clearly in the early stages and I would urge people not to speculate online about what happened. It’s really not helpful and can be very upsetting for the family.”

Officers are appealing for witnesses to come forward. If you saw what happened or saw the grey Mercedes driving in the build-up to the crash then please get in touch. You can do so via Live Chat on the West Midlands Police website or you can email the Serious Collision Investigation Unit

Anyone who has dash-cam footage showing the incident is also asked to contact the team.