Baby boy joy for mum of car crash victim
AMOTHER mourning the loss of her son in a car crash and fearing for her pregnancy has found out she is expecting a healthy baby boy.
Claire Taylor believes there is finally ‘some light’ after struggling through the days in a fog of grief following the death of 21-year-old Kavana Taylor.
Claire, 39, has spent much of her time since Kavana’s death, on April 1, at a makeshift shrine at the site of the collision in Castleton.
But, as medics told her Kavana’s unborn sibling was healthy and revealed for the first time she is expecting a boy, Claire was able to feel hope for the future again.
Claire, who is 22 weeks pregnant, told the Observer: “I had told Kavana I was pregnant before he died but we didn’t know it was a boy.
“Knowing this helps me.
“That’s all I wanted. I wanted to know the baby was healthy because I’ve not been looking myself as well Kavana’s death.
“And then they said it was a boy. It means out of this horrendous time I will have another son. That’s some light. But I won’t call him Kavana. Kavana was unique, there will never be another Kavana.
“But I will tell the baby all about his big brother.”
Kavana passed away on Easter Sunday after his blue BMW was in a collision with a Volkswagen Polo at 1.30am.
His funeral, attended by friends and family including his dad Ian, 55, took after since place on Friday.
Kavana was a full-time carer for his mum, who suffers with Barrett’s oesophagus - a condition where the cells of the gullet grow abnormally.
Claire added: “He took my children to school, he looked after me for the last 18 months while I haven’t been well.”
On the night of the incident, Claire received a phone call from one of Kavana’s friends.
“I went straight to the bridge in Castleton but I already knew, I knew straight away,” said Claire.
“My world just fell apart. We were best friends. I had him young and we grew up together.”
Claire and Kavana would speak up to seven times a day and Claire remembers the last time they talked, her son told her he loved her.
“He put his arms round me, gave me a kiss. “I have that memory. “And I told him I was pregnant, he just smiled, joked I was old.”