Mother and 3 children killed in horror smash
Father and baby fight for life after family car and HGV collide near Oxford
A MOTHER and her three children died in a horrific crash with an HGV which left the family’s people carrier ‘crumpled like a can’.
Zoe Powell, 29, and daughters Phoebe, eight, and Amelia, four, were killed instantly along with six-year- old son Simeon on Monday night.
Their father Joshua, 30, who is thought to have been the frontseat passenger, and the Powells’ 18-month-old daughter were left critically injured in the collision.
‘Mummy blogger’ Mrs Powell ran a website dedicated to her experience of motherhood and sold a diary, The Mama Book, designed to support other parents.
Mr Powell is a civil engineer who runs his own railway infrastructure firm. Last night neighbours said it was the second tragedy to strike the family in a matter of months. Earlier this year the Powells were forced to leave their village home after fire ripped through the property.
Monday’s collision happened close to a railway bridge on the A40 outside Oxford at 9.50pm. David Patchett, who lives on a narrowboat moored nearby, said he ran to the scene after hearing a ‘horrendous’ explosion so loud other boaters were convinced it was a sonic boom.
He added: ‘The noise shook through my boat... it was an epic sound, enough to make your heart jump. I grabbed my phone and shoes and ran out at full pelt down the road while trying to dial 999.’
Mr Patchett said the Powells’ silver Subaru was in the middle of the road. He added: ‘It wasn’t just front-end damage, it looked like it had been crumpled like a can.
‘The toddler was lying in the middle of the road. The emergency services turned up very quickly. It was a horrifying thing to see.’
Mrs Powell was a keen artist and English literature graduate. She said the idea behind her Mama Book blog was ‘born out of my own need for a space – a physical place to write and focus and reflect on motherhood’.
The site carries a picture of her and Mr Powell behind their three eldest children, who are perching on a tree branch
Friends in the Oxfordshire village of Chinnor, where they lived, told how the family had had to
‘Toddler was lying in the road’
leave their home after a fire a few months ago.
The house remained boarded up yesterday and a neighbour said the family had temporarily moved to a rented property elsewhere in the village.
Mr Powell and the couple’s baby remained in a critical condition at Oxford’s John Radcliffe Hospital last night. Thames Valley Police said the driver of the HGV, a 56year-old man, suffered minor injuries. No arrests have been made.
Investigating officers said they would leave ‘no stone unturned’ following the tragedy and appealed for anybody with dashcam footage of the incident or of either vehicle to come forward.