A North East family have told of their heartbreak after their daughter died in a car crash in Australia – and have issued an impassioned plea for donations so they can say goodbye.
Hannah Fraser, 30, died in a head-on crash with a cement truck near Perth, Australia, early on Wednesday morning.
The mother-of-six was pronounced dead at the scene while all six children were airlifted to hospital. The youngest, aged 1, and another are in a critical condition in intensive care while four others remain in hospital.
Her father Stephen and stepmother Christina were told the devastating news while at home in Stockton, more than 9,000 miles away and in a different time zone.
The grieving parents have now launched an emergency fundraiser to collect donations for the cost of the flights Down Under.
“The pain we feel being so far away is almost unbearable. We just want to be there for our other children, Hannah's sisters and brothers,” Stepmother Christina Fox said.
“We got a phone call from our two daughters and we knew it was bad because they never ring that early in the morning and they said, ‘there’s no easy way to tell you this but Hannah’s been in a fatal car accident’.
“Having seen the car I’m surprised anyone is alive. Hannah’s siblings here are really struggling at the news of losing their sister, their ages range between seven and 30. She always said I was her inspiration to having so many kids.”
“We greatly appreciate any help."
Hannah's father Stephen, 55, and Christina, 50, moved to Stockton in 2019 with six of their 10 children as the other four remained in Australia. And the long distance is now proving more excruciating than ever as they hope to travel to be with their family.
“Hannah’s siblings are devastated at the loss of their sister,” Christina added. “Hannah meant the world to all of them.”
The family have set up the appeal ‘out of desperation’ in a last ditch attempt to raise the funds, which are estimated at around £2,000 each for flights.
Christina added: “We live month to month; we can’t come up with that sort of money. It’s really hard to grieve when you’re so far away in different time zones. I haven’t slept since I got the news on Wednesday morning, I’m absolutely beside myself.
“I don’t know a lot of people here and we’re trying to make a life in the region after moving back to England. We’re only just now starting to get to know people, we’ve had a really rough time and now this has happened.”
The online fundraiser has already raised more than £6,000 but the family say they need at least £15,000 to be able to afford the cost of eight plane tickets in time for the funeral.
Hannah's devastated husband Leighton paid tribute to her by saying: “The thought of you not being here with me is so surreal, yet at the same time I know two things; the first is that you’re right here with me, and you always will be, and the second is that you will be sitting at the throne of God in awe of him just like we always talked about."
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