Parents learned of son’s death in car crash through social media

A COUPLE learned their son had died in a collision on his own street after relatives saw social media posts about the incident.

Paul Hotson’s worst fears were confirmed when he visited the scene in Cromwell Crescent, Pontefract, to find the area cordoned off in the early hours of yesterday.

The BMW X5 which son Jason had been driving in recent weeks had collided with a parked Peugeot and Hyundai just after 11.20pm on Monday night.

It came to rest after rolling in the carriageway, causing fatal injuries to the 35-year-old father.

Mr Hotson said: “My daughter found out through social media. I went up and saw the collision and I had to walk away. I knew it was him straight away.”

He said his wife went to the scene afterwards and was told by officers that their son had died.

Returning to the scene at around 6.30am, he was sickened to find the police cordon gone and blood still on the pavement.

And when police called with an update in the morning, the family’s upset was compounded by the news that the liaison officer assigned to them would not visit until 4pm at the earliest.

“We’ve had absolutely no police support whatsoever,” Mr said. “It’s absolutely ridiculous.”

Sergeant Ann Drury, of the Major Collision and Enquiry Team, said immediate family had been formally notified at the scene, but officers would have made enquiries to find them otherwise.

She said the liaison officer could not visit earlier due to shift patterns, but they would discuss support and next steps then.

“It is normal practice for us to give a family some space in the immediate aftermath of such a tragic event to begin to process what is clearly devastating information,” she added.