Road crash leaves three dead and four children motherless (From Cotswold Journal)

Road crash leaves three dead and four children motherless

9:00am Thursday 14th June 2012 in News

A MOTHER of two from Wick died and her husband is fighting for his life in hospital after a horror crash which killed three members of the same family.

Rebecca Townsend, aged 26, died along with her brother Luke Morris, 22, and his 24-year-old partner Elizabeth Stanley. Mrs Townsend’s husband Craig is being cared for in the Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Birmingham and remains in a stable condition having suffered multiple injuries.

Mrs Townsend’s two children are from a previous relationship she had before marrying Mr Townsend.

They are James, six, and four-year-old Aimee, who are believed to be staying with their father.

The accident occurred on the B4084 when the black Nissan 200 SX Coupe, being driven by Mr Morris, left the road and struck a tree near Pershore College at 12.35am on Saturday.

Mrs Townsend was a back seat passenger and was taken to hospital but died a short time later.

She and Mr Morris leave behind father Paul Morris, stepmother Lucy Morris, mum Josephine Platt and stepfather Lee Platt. They spoke of their “devastation”

at the tragedy.

“Luke and Becky were inseparable from an early age. They were always there for each other. We are all very proud of them and nobody had a bad word to say about either of them,” they said.

Both went to St Ambrose Catholic Primary School, in Kidderminster, before Wolverley Secondary School. Mrs Townsend was a carer and Mr Morris worked as an electrician for Powertest.

Both were “dedicated to their children, who they loved dearly”. Their father Paul added: “The proudest day of my life was when I gave Becky away on her wedding day. She looked so beautiful.”

Mr Morris and Miss Stanley, both from Kidderminster, died at the scene.

Their families said “no words could describe” the devastation they are feeling.

They leave a threeyear- old daughter Ella, while Miss Stanley also had a son from a previous relationship, six-year-old Wyatt Stanley. Members of Miss Stanley’s family, including her father Dean, stepmother Michele, mother Charmaine and her four brothers, described her as a “bubbly girl and a loving daughter”.

“Her life was dedicated to her children and she and Luke loved spending days out with them,” they said.

“They also spent many happy hours with Becky and Craig. She was always doing something different, willing to give anything a try. She loved to sing and had a beautiful voice. She also loved animals, particularly her two dogs.”

Meanwhile, it was announced yesterday that the speed limit on the road where the crash occurred is to be reduced.

Since the accident, residents and parish councillors in Wick have said that the road is an accident blackspot and has long been a cause for concern.

The county council says that it is planning to cut the limit from 50mph to 40mph, and that it could not have acted any more quickly as it is a time-consuming process.

David Scott, chairman of Wick Parish Council, said there had been calls to the highways department to tackle speeding and unsafe overtaking along the road for many years.

“The concerns of the village and ourselves as a parish council have been voiced long before this accident,” he said. “While I don’t necessarily think there is anything that could have been done to prevent this tragedy, there are things that could be done to improve safety in future. It is a major concern to us and has been for many years.”

He believes speed enforcement cameras are “essential”

along the road if speeding and safety concerns are to be tackled. “I think that is the only way these problems can sensibly be tackled. There is no point in having a speed limit unless it is enforced.”

He added that the mood in Wick since the accident had been one of “great sadness”.

“It is terribly tragic. People’s lives have been lost and children have lost their parents,”

he added.

Councillor John Smith, cabinet member for highways and transport at the county council, said: “The council has been responsible for reviewing the speed limits on all of the county’s A and B roads for the last 12 months as part of the National Speed Review.

“We have to adhere to a national process, which unfortunately takes time. But we are new nearing the implementation stage for the speed limit change from 50 mph to 40 mph on the B4084.”

Inquests into the deaths of Mrs Townsend, Mr Morris and Miss Stanley were opened at Worcestershire Coroners Court yesterday and adjourned.

Police are continuing to investigate and are asking anyone with information to call 101, quoting incident number 20S/090612.