Mother’s grief for ‘cheeky’ brothers killed in hit and run
Mum’s grief for hit-run pair
FAMILY members sobbed yesterday as they visited the spot where two young boys were mowed down and killed by an allegedly drunken hitand-run driver.
Casper Platt-May, aged two, and his brother Corey, six, were out on a halfterm trip to the park with their mother, Louise, and their aunts and cousins when they were killed as the group were crossing a residential street in Coventry.
A hatchback ploughed into them, smashing a pushchair the younger boy was sitting in to pieces.
Grieving mother Louise said in a statement: “Corey was an amazing boy. He never kept still, always had to be doing something and coming up with new ideas of things to do. He loved school more than any kid I know.” She added: “Casper was a cheeky little boy, always getting into trouble and driving his brothers crazy but he was so loving and caring and constantly told his family how much he loved them.
“He loved walking everywhere with his wellies and splashing in the puddles.”
A 15-year-old Ford Focus was found abandoned after the collision at 2pm on Thursday with its windscreen smashed and airbags deployed a short distance from the scene.
Police have arrested a 53-year-old man and a 41-year-old woman on suspicion of causing death by dangerous driving and drink-driving and were yesterday granted a 12-hour extension to keep questioning them. As the boys’ father Reece Platt-May, their aunt Tia Fletcher and their grandfather Kim May visited the scene, Ms Fletcher, 22, described the horrific crash.
“We were crossing the road and had checked both ways, there wasn’t a car in sight so we step out into the road,” she said.
“Next thing we saw was this black car come speeding round the corner and it just didn’t stop, never seemed to slow down. It all happened so quickly, it’s just a blur.
“The car hit the two boys. Casper was sat in his toy car and it just smashed it to pieces. It was like a war zone.
“The children were in complete panic and screaming and crying. Neighbours came running out and everyone was trying to help.
“Casper had no pulse and he had already gone but Corey had a slight one so they rushed him straight to Birmingham Children’s Hospital. He just didn’t make it.”
Another of the boys’ aunts, Chelsea PlattMay, 27, broke down as she described the sound of “crushing plastic and screeching tyres” as the black hatchback ploughed into Casper’s toy car.
She said: “In that moment of hearing crushing plastic, we all froze and it wasn’t until we heard Louise scream that we knew something was wrong.”
Grandfather Mr May said: “The boys were my heart and soul.
“Their lives have been taken away so young. It’s crazy.”