‘I’m still expecting him to come through the door’
Partner tells of loss after 65-year-old’s death on the A2
The partner of a 65-year-old Staplehurst man who died following a crash on the A2 last week has described him as a “much loved and caring man”.
Linda Reynolds, 58, paid tribute to Len Alliston who died in King’s College Hospital last Wednesday after a crash on the dual carrigeway near Ebbsfleet. Ms Reynolds, of Couchman Green Lane, revealed she was told Mr Alliston suffered a heart attack while driving.
Paying tribute to her partner of seven years, she said: “He was just my Len, and it’s hard to describe him any more than that. “He was a much loved and caring man. I don’t think it’s sunk in yet what’s happened.
“I’m still expecting him to ring me or come through the door at 4pm. It’s just not real.
“I loved him to bits, he was my world, my everything.” Ms Reynolds admitted she knew something was wrong when the HGV driver was late home. She said: “He rang me to say he was on his way home, but 40 minutes later he wasn’t here.
“He usually would ring me to moan about the traffic, but didn’t, and I just knew something was wrong.” The kennel assistant described how Mr Alliston “loved his food” and often went to Creams Cafe. He also enjoyed spending time in the garden lawn mowing. Mr Alliston, who previously lived in Yalding, was described as a great step-father to Ms Reynold’s children Scott, Ian, Jenny, Jess and Ben.
He was also a doting step-grandfather to Patsy, Tony and Stanley.
Mr Alliston had a daughter of his own, Charlie, three grandchildren Micky, Sonny and Lenny, and great-grandson Stanley. Police are still appealing for witnesses to the crash that involved multiple vehicles. A blue Audi A4 and a black Infiniti M35h were involved and it is thought other as yet unidentified vehicles may also have been involved.
Drivers were left in queues stretching back eight miles while police and ambulance crews cleared the road and treated the Mr Alliston, before taking him to the London hospital, where he died the next day.
A police spokesman said officers were trying to establish the full facts and renewed its appeal for witnesses and dashcam footage.”
Call the Serious Collision Investigation Unit on 01622 798 538 quoting 25-1172, or email sciu. td@kent.pnn.police.uk.