Police are appealing for witnesses to last week's fatal road accident to come forward - and have warned motorists to beware on the roads after a spate of collisions in recent days.

Officers are interested in speaking to any eyewitnesses on the scene when six-year-old Tyaisha Cox was knocked over as she crossed the street using a pedestrian crossing on St. Mary's Road in Warwick last Thursday morning.

The little girl had just got off the 8C bus from Somerset with her nine-year-old brother and the pair were making their way across the road to attend summer day camp at Purvis Primary School when tragedy struck.

It is believed the bus waited at the crossing for the children to pass, but a jeep-type vehicle pulled out from behind the bus to overtake it and drove straight through the crossing, colliding with the youngster.

The bus driver saw the car coming and honked his horn to alert the children, and while it managed to save the little girl's brother Tyshaun Brown, it was too late for Tyaisha.

Police spokesman Dwayne Caines said anyone who was saw the accident at about 7:45 a.m. on Thursday should come forward with information.

"We are looking for witnesses, particularly individuals that may have been on the 8C bus at the time of the collision," said Mr. Caines.

"We are also looking for a small grey box-type car, which we believe was an Alto, that was also on the scene at the time. We are looking for the driver of that vehicle to please come forward. We believe they may have seen the incident and the events that led up to the collision with the six-year-old girl." Tyaisha was the seventh road fatality of the year so far, and Mr. Caines said there had been a noticeable increase in the number of serious accidents on the roads.

Only last week, two bikes collided in the early hours of Friday morning, leaving a 21-year-old woman in the intensive care unit of King Edward VII Memorial Hospital in a critical condition after she sustained head injuries, a broken right knee and a fractured lower right jaw. She remained in the same condition last night. A male rider also involved in the collision on Parsons Road, Pembroke, is still on a general ward at hospital in a stable condition. And in the early hours of Saturday morning, a single vehicle accident on North Shore Road, near to Black Watch Pass, left a 28-year-old man with serious internal injuries and he was still in a critical condition in the ICU last night.

Mr. Caines urged motorists to take more care on the roads and to adhere to the road laws.

"Bermuda Police is again saddened to note that we have lost yet another life on the roads," said Mr. Caines. "We have also witnessed a large number of serious road collisions in the last few weeks, and so we are again appealing to the motoring public to observe all of our road laws.

"Observe the speed limit, take care in overtaking and drive with due care and attention, and, of course, do not drink and drive."

He said seven people had been killed on the roads so far this year, making it a total of 450 since records began in 1963. "That indeed is a large number of people that have died needlessly - and that has affected 450 families," added Mr. Caines. "But there are also numerous people whose lives have been irrevocably changed because of serious road collisions, although they may have survived, and so we are making this appeal for people to take care while riding or driving their vehicles."