Gracie-Ann Lucas, four, and her three-year-old brother Jayden-Lee Lucas were returning home from a birthday celebration with their mother, Rhiannon Lucas, and a friend on February 5. A vehicle hit with the automobile they were in, and both siblings perished within days of each other.
Jayden-Lee died five days after Gracie-Anne perished in the collision on February 6. Martin Newman, 41, the van driver, was convicted with death by hazardous driving. Newman was high on drugs and drink when he collided with a stalled car on the M4.
Jamie Lucas, the children’s cousin, paid homage to Gracie-Ann at the time of her passing. He is just trying to process the reality that she’s gone; it’s hard to comprehend. She was still so young. She saw a promising future ahead of her. She was such a sweet youngster. Honestly, he is at a loss for words. She was on her way back from a birthday celebration when she died. Regarding Jayden’s death, he stated, sadly, Jayden died after a week of struggling. He was fantastic, creative, and a beautiful person. Blued up the dreary sky.
The children’s father, Joseph Wheaton, 24, claimed the collision “destroyed” him and his family. This has been the worst year of his life,” he remarked. From receiving the phone call that his kids had been in a vehicle accident to entering the hospital room, he looked at both of them and it just didn’t feel right; it crushed his heart. It crushed his heart to see them both in the room with all the devices on them. He’ll never forget that vision. It saddened him to know his kid wouldn’t make it through the night. He prayed and prayed and prayed that week. They had some optimism that he was moving since the doctors stated he had a gag reflex, and he thought to himself, ‘Go on boy.’ he revealed. He blew raspberries on his tummy, expecting him to come around a little, but instead he farted, and the father thought, ‘he must be in there,’ since he was always a humorous child, and that helped to relieve some of the anxiety.
Before Jayden died, they all had to sit down and speak about it before turning it off, and he just kept saying, no, he is not ready to let him go yet. It’s impossible for him. He can’t go yet since he is not prepared, he stated. His son breathed for approximately 10 minutes after it was removed, and that was the end of it. And then it simply snapped them all to bits. It has destroyed them.
The driver, Newman, guilty to two counts of careless driving and one count of causing serious harm to the children’s mom, Rhiannon Lucas, by reckless driving, as well as accusations of drunk driving and drug driving. He was sentenced to nine years and four months in prison, which the Wheaton family finds absurd. It’s outrageous that they can only give him, what, nine and a half years, and it will be divided in half, Wheaton stated.
That man in court said, he just wants to go and see his kids and Wheaton thought, how rude, he can’t see his kids.He has to travel up to a graveyard to visit his babies on birthdays and Christmas. He said that man will be able to see his children in a few years, but they will never be able to see theirs. They have to walk up to the cemetery to find theirs. They can’t visit them, so they go to the cemetery. They can’t buy them chocolates like one can, so they have to settle for flowers.
