College mourns loss of popular assistant

Mara Voglewede

DEVASTATED staff and students at Hathershaw College have paid tribute to one of their learning support assistants after she was knocked down and killed on Wednesday.

Mara Voglewede suffered a head injury after being struck by a VW Golf on Yew Tree Road, Fallowfield, just after 6pm.

The 32-year-old was was taken to Manchester Royal Infirmary, and later transferred to Salford Royal Hospital, where she died from her injuries a few hours later.

Ms Voglewede, originally from Idaho in America, joined the College last year in a role supporting foreign students with language acquisition.

Impact

She worked closely with a number of students at the college, giving them the skills to be able to work independently in lessons and made a real impact on their academic life.

The college described her as a “fun-loving, child-centred professional who took a real pride in seeing the rapid development of the students in her care.”

Dave McEntee, principal at Hathershaw College, said: “Our thoughts are very much with Mara’s family at this most difficult time.”

Inspector Dale Sexton, of Greater Manchester Police, said officers are working to establish the cause of the accident, which happened during extremely wet weather.

The road, close to Ms Voglewede’s home, is a busy commuter route from south Manchester to the city centre.

The accident this week is believed to be the second in two months.