JUST over three weeks since popular Ringwood teenager Jade Clark died in a horrific crash, the driver of a car which hit her continues to stay silent.

The 16-year-old was killed when the red scooter she was riding was in collision with several other vehicles on the A31 on Sunday February 24.

Two days after the tragedy Dorset Police confirmed the driver of a Volvo XC90 had failed to stop, launching an appeal for the driver to come forward.

Officers believe the Volvo XC90 struck Jade while she was upright. But the vehicle failed to remain at the scene.

Now, after 800 cars in six different counties have been painstakingly eliminated by a dedicated team of officers, the search continues to track down the driver who fled the fatal crash site.

An emotional appeal by Jade’s family – her mother Sharon Clark, stepfather Daniel Clark, father Billy Herald and grandmother Linda Pidgley – directly to the driver, a week after Jade’s death, urged whoever it was to “please, please come forward.”

Jade’s mum said: “To lose Jade the way we did is what’s hardest to bear. For a driver to cause Jade’s accident and then drive away, leaving her alone in the road, is almost too difficult to believe.

“To that driver, I would say please, please come forward and contact the police. You must be finding this hard to live with, especially if you have children of your own. “ A reward – which was increased from £1,000 to £5,000 thanks to Ringwood-based company Churchill Retirement Living – has also been offered for information leading to the arrest and charge of the driver.

And the local community have been putting up posters and distributing flyers with details of the car and reward to Bournemouth, Ringwood, Crow Arch Industrial Estate and Southampton.

Appeals have been made to body repair shops, vehicle spares and car breaker yards, who may have had enquiries to repair a damaged XC90 as well as members of the public who may have observed someone acting differently or noticed someone’s XC90 suddenly disappeared.