Louis Thorold's dad revisits 'harrowing' stretch of A10 in Cambridgeshire where baby was killed
Watch a report by ITV News Anglia's Matthew Hudson
The father of a five-month-old baby killed in a crash has visited the stretch of road where he died to see the safety improvements that have been made since his death.
Chris Thorold's wife, Rachael, was walking her baby son Louis in his pram next to the A10 in Waterbeach, Cambridgeshire in January 2021, when a pensioner pulled into the path of a van which then mounted the pavement.
Baby Louis was killed instantly and Mrs Thorold was left with serious injuries, spending 10 days in a coma.
Since then the Thorold family has campaigned for improvements to the road which was an accident blackspot.
The completed £2m upgrade includes a pedestrian crossing, wider pavements and a reduced speed limit of 40mph down from 50mph.
Mr Thorold said the new measures were a "massive step forward" but witnessing the changes has brought mixed emotions of sadness and pride.
He said achieving the changes for the community made him feel like they had done "something good for the world".
He said: "We stood here 18 months ago on a cold rainy day watching trucks steaming past at 50mph, which for the cyclists, for the mothers with children, for the pedestrians who use this road every day, was just harrowing."
Since the work had been done he said it felt like, "a different environment".
"This road essentially belongs to this community here and it needs to be safe for them," he added.
The improvements which were paid for by the company Urban and Civic, which is redeveloping a site in Waterbeach with assistance from the county council.
Mr Thorold visited the scene of the crash with a group of local politicians from across the political spectrum who had supported the family's calls for safety improvements.
Lucy Frazer, the Conservative MP for East Cambridgeshire, said: "It's absolutely incumbent on all of us who represent a local area to listen carefully to the concerns of the people we represent.
"I'm really pleased that everyone in Cambridgeshire at every level in Cambridgeshire has come together to support Chris and his campaign."
Both Lucy Nethsingha, the Liberal Democrat leader of Cambridgeshire County Council, and Nik Johnson, the mayor of the Combined Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Authority, paid tribute to the Thorold family.
Mr Johnson said: "Respect to the family for what they've achieved over the last two years in terms of holding people like the county council [and] the combined authority to account.
"We want to see safer roads in Cambridgeshire and Peterborough and this is an example born of tragedy where there has been improvements."
As well as the road improvements, Mr and Mrs Thorold believe their case highlights the need for a change in the rules around driving fitness checks.
The pensioner who caused the crash was acquitted of causing Louis' death by careless driving by reason of insanity, because she was suffering from undiagnosed dementia.
In an interview with ITV News Anglia following the court case in August, Mr Thorold said the current requirement of filling out a form to confirm a driver is mentally fit to get behind the wheel was "wrong".
He said and independent medical assessment should be required to prevent any future unnecessary road deaths.
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