Tributes to carer killed in car crash

TRIBUTES have been paid to a young carer who was was killed in a crash involving a car and a lorry in the early hours of Wednesday near Exeter.

Nathan Luxton, 28, from Tiverton, died at the scene of the crash after his blue Audi car was in collision with a lorry on the A3052 Sidmouth Road at Clyst St Mary near Exeter at just after midnight on December 23.

Heartbroken colleagues who worked with Nathan at Horizon Care (South West) Ltd say that the elderly people he cared for in their own homes are “in pieces”.

Julie Bickham, the director of the Exeter-based care agency, said: “It is heartbreaking. Nathan was that special person who spent time with the elderly and took time to really care for them in their own homes – he didn’t care if it was in his own time, as long as they were alright.

“He was really, really loved by the other carers, his company and everybody he worked with.”

Tributes have also been paid by fellow runners at Tiverton Harriers who describe Nathan as a great athlete with a passion for the sport. Many said he was always friendly to everyone he met and was an “amazing, determined, unique guy”.

Others have praised his work caring for the elderly. The family of one 93-year-old man told WMN sister website Devon Live that their father was “in pieces” after hearing the tragic news: “Nathan was my Dad’s carer. My 93-year-old Dad thought the world of him. My Dad is in pieces. Nathan was such a nice man. So helpful and caring .”

The fatal crash came at the start of a day of road accidents in terrible weather across the county, including a second crash on the same road less than 24 hours later at Newton Poppleford High Street. A 93-year-old pedestrian suffered life-threatening injuries after being hit by a car at 5pm.