Mother of kids killed in crash due to have baby on daughter's birthday
Mother of boy, three, and four-year-old girl who were both killed by drink and drug driver in M4 crash announces she is pregnant – and is due to give birth on her late daughter’s birthday
- Mother of two children who were killed in horrific M4 crash is expecting a baby
- Rhiannon Lucas lost her children, Gracie-Ann Lucas, 4, and Jayden-Lee Lucas, 3
- Her due date is same day as what would have been Gracie-Ann’s sixth birthday
- Rhiannon and partner, who was kids’ stepfather, see it as a ‘message’ from them
The mother of two young children who were killed in a horrific crash on the M4 has shared the news that she is pregnant with another child – with the due date being the same day as her late daughter’s birthday.
Four-year-old Gracie-Ann Lucas and three-year-old Jayden-Lee Lucas were killed as they were being driven home from a friend’s birthday party in February.
The two children, from Tredegar, near Merthyr Tydfil, were in a car on the M4 in Newport with their mother Rhiannon Lucas and her partner when it was hit by a van being driven by a drunk and drug driver.
Four-year-old Gracie-Ann Lucas and her three-year-old brother Jayden-Lee Lucas were killed in February by a van driver who had been drinking and had taken drugs
Adam and Rhiannon have been in a relationship for just under two years and this will be Adam’s first child and Rhiannon’s third. Adam, 27, has said the pregnancy is keeping the couple ‘sane’
Tragically both siblings, also known by the surname Wheaton, died within days of each other following the collision at around 1.45pm on February 5, while Rhiannon sustained serious injuries.
It was later heard in court that the van’s driver, Martin Newman, 41, was high on drink and drugs when he smashed into the stationary vehicle on the M4 westbound carriageway between junctions 28 and 29.
Newman was more than twice the drink-driving limit after going out with colleagues the night before the crash, and had drunk 10 cans of Strongbow and taken cocaine once he returned to his hotel room.
Newman, of Croeserw, admitted two counts of causing death by dangerous driving, one of causing serious injury to the children’s mother by dangerous driving, and charges of drink-driving and drug-driving
The two children, from Tredegar, near Merthyr Tydfil, were in a car with their mother Rhiannon Lucas and her partner when their car was hit by the van on the M4 in Newport
The children’s mother, Rhiannon Lucas, was injured in the crash – leading Newman to plead guilty to one count causing serious injury by dangerous driving
He was jailed for nine years and four months but will serve just over four years in custody.
The children’s family had appealed his sentence but it was denied.
Now Rhiannon and her partner Adam Saunders – who was a stepfather to Jayden and Gracie – have announced they are expecting a child.
Miraculously, the baby’s due date has been announced as April 10, 2023, what would have been Gracie-Ann’s sixth birthday.
It was heard in court how Martin Newman, 41, was high on drink and drugs when he smashed into the stationary vehicle on the M4 westbound carriageway between junctions 28 and 29
Adam and Rhiannon have been in a relationship for just under two years and this will be Adam’s first child and Rhiannon’s third.
He said that they found out about the pregnancy when Rhiannon was around eight weeks along and were told about the incredible due date at the 12-week scan.
Adam, 27, who works in the call centre industry, has said the pregnancy is keeping the pair ‘sane’.
He said: ‘After everything we have been through, this is something to keep us sane and positive and happy to look forward to now.
‘Obviously, we will never forget Jayden and Gracie but it’s something we don’t have to always dwell on and always have sad moments, we have happy memories to look back on.
‘This is something now for us to focus on and look forward to. It’s something lovely to happen to us after everything that has happened.’
Jayden and Gracie-Ann (pictured), and their parents, were rushed to the intensive care unit (ICU) of University Hospital of Wales, also known as the Heath Hospital, in Cardiff, following the crash
Adam said that when he was told about the due date and realised its significance, he was ‘gobsmacked’ and thinks it is a message from the children.
He said: ‘It’s like fate. For the due date to be on Gracie’s birthday, it’s like the kids were sending us a message. I was hands in my face gobsmacked. I was speechless.
‘For my first child and Rhiannon’s third, to be due on Gracie’s birthday, well it’s incredible. It’s a special child.’
Given it’s only just over seven months since the children’s tragic death, Adam said there were a lot of emotions involved in the pregnancy, especially for mum Rhiannon who is still battling her own injuries.
‘Emotions are definitely high but there have always been smiles on our faces since we found out, we’re always talking about it, always on our mind.
‘Anything we do talk about in terms of Gracie and Jayden is obviously still very emotional but we talk about them in a happy way, we remember positive memories. They’re happy memories, we’re smiling when we talk about them.’
The young siblings had a joint funeral on March 21 in which the emotional service saw the children’s favourite cartoon characters lead the procession, and doves released into the air as hundreds gathered on the streets to mourn their tragic deaths.
Gracie-Ann (pictured left and right) suffered a cardiac arrest due to the severity of her injuries and died the following day at around 5am. A GoFundMe page set up to raise money for the siblings’ funeral has raised more than £11,500.
‘Me and Rhiannon go up the graveside quite frequently,’ said Adam, ‘And I’ve got to be honest the first time we went to the grave after we found out it was like announcing the news to them that they’re having a brother or sister.
‘Although they are gone they’re still with us in our hearts and as far as we are concerned, Gracie and Jayden are having a little brother or sister.
‘We did get emotional then. It was like we were telling them the news, without being able to physically tell them the news.’
‘But we know they are looking down on us and knew what we told them. And now they’ll certainly have some involvement.
‘They’re making sure they are involved and sending a message with the due date on Gracie’s birthday.
‘And now they’ll certainly have some involvement. This is something lovely and exciting for us all now.’
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