A “wonderful” three-year-old boy has died in hospital almost a week after a crash on a motorway in Wales that also killed a four-year-old girl.
The boy, who cannot be named for legal reasons, had been travelling in a car on the M4 westbound carriageway, near Newport, when it was in a collision with a van on 5 February.
There was a huge emergency services response and the road was closed for about seven hours last week.
The boy’s family said he died on Friday at 4.30pm after almost a week of being treated in the intensive care unit at University Hospital of Wales, also known as the Heath hospital, in Cardiff.
A family member told the PA news agency: “Unfortunately, after a week of fighting, he has passed away. He was wonderful, creative and a kind soul. Turned the grey skies blue.”
Four-year-old Gracie-Ann Wheaton, from Tredegar, was also severely injured in the crash and died the following day. Gracie-Ann had been returning home from a birthday party, her cousin Jamie Lucas, said. Lucas, 19, paid tribute to Gracie-Ann, describing her as “just fantastic to be around”. He said: “I’m just trying to wrap my head around the fact that she’s gone; it’s hard to believe.
“She was so young. She had a bright future ahead of her. She was such a wonderful child. I’m just lost for words really. How she was returning from a birthday party and all of a sudden she’s gone,” he said. “She was very smart, she was very creative. She had a really great imagination as well. She was just fantastic to be around.”
The van driver, 41-year-old Martin Newman, of Croeserw, appeared at Newport magistrates court on Monday charged with causing death by dangerous driving and two offences of causing serious injury by dangerous driving in relation to the accident. Newman was remanded into custody until his hearing at Newport crown court on 21 February.
Gwent police are urging anyone with dashcam footage of the collision, or any information that could help the investigation, to contact them on 101.
