Drink drive crash wrecked my family, warns mother

Jane Marsh has been a staunch road safety campaigner since the death of her 20-year-old daughter Kelly in 2005.

The trainee dental nurse had been travelling in a car being driven by Helen Atkinson, which left Lighthorne Road in Kineton and hit a tree. Miss Atkinson, who had been over the legal alcohol limit at the time, was sent to prison but released in 2009.

Now Mrs Marsh, who lives in Butlers Marston, has spoken out in an emotional video interview to be broadcast online as part of a West Midlands and West Mercia-wide anti drink-drive campaign during the run-up to Christmas.

Speaking ahead of the campaign launch, Mrs Marsh said: “There are some things people don’t get to know about. It has been like a tidal wave crashing through the family.

“Some of my relatives don’t speak to me any more. I lost my mother last year, but I had not seen her since Kelly’s funeral because the family had been broken up.”

Most painful of all for Mrs Marsh was when she was recently emailed a photograph of a family reunion to which she had not been invited, In the photograph she saw the face of Helen Atkinson, who had attended the event because she had been in a relationship with one of the family members.

Mrs Marsh said: “Can you imagine how painful that is? That should have been Kelly there, not her. People don’t see the devastation it causes.

“Every single day I am getting pain. I will never come to terms with what has happened.

“But Kelly’s death has to mean more than just nothing. I need to do something in her memory. If my campaigning helps to save just one person, if somebody listens, even if I never know about it, at least I know I tried to do something.”

Mrs Marsh is also taking part in charity Brake’s Road Safety Week, which starts on Monday and runs until Sunday November 27.

Figures published by the organisation show that every week a young person is killed on roads in the West Midlands and every 18 hours, a young person suffers a serious injury on the region’s roads, in many cases life-changing injuries such as brain damage, paralysis or limb loss.

Mrs Marsh said: “When people are killed in car crashes, it can be violent and brutal, but because it’s an everyday occurrence, people don’t think about the reality of it.

“I ask for zero tolerance and tougher sentences to get the message clear.”

People will be able to view the video of Mrs Marsh speaking about her experiences from next month. Details will be published nearer the time.