Our family was wiped out by drug-driver who killed our two kids in horror crash – now we’re having another baby
THE parents of two kids killed in a horror cocaine-fuelled crash have revealed they are expecting a baby.
Rhiannon Lucas and Adam Saunders were left heartbroken when Gracie-Ann, four, and Jayden-Lee, three, died after a drug-driver slammed into their car at 57mph.
The couple, from Wales, have now told of their joy at being pregnant - and their due date is April 10, which would have been little Gracie- Ann's sixth birthday.
Adam, Gracie-Ann and Jayden-Lee's stepdad, told : "Although they are gone they’re still with us in our hearts and as far as we are concerned, Gracie and Jayden are having a little brother or sister.
“This is something now for us to focus on and look forward to. It’s something lovely to happen to us after everything that has happened."
Adam says the due date falling on Gracie-Ann's birthday feels like "fate".
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He added: “For the due date to be on Gracie’s birthday, it’s like the kids were sending us a message.
“Emotions are definitely high but there have been smiles on our faces since we found out.”
The youngsters were returning home from a birthday party with mum Rhiannon in February when Martin Newman hit them in his car.
The van driver, 41, was twice the drink-drive limit and also had cocaine in his system when he was seen driving erratically in Newport, Wales.
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After the horror crash on the M4, Newman was found crying with blood on his hands saying he "wished he was dead".
Little Jayden-Lee was rushed to hospital but sadly died almost a week after the smash.
His older sister died after suffering a cardiac arrest in the crash.
The children's mum Rhiannon was taken to hospital with injuries to her liver.
Newman had earlier been seen driving erratically as he weaved in and out of traffic and spoke on the phone before making the fatal attempt to undertake a lorry.
He told police he was drinking and taking cocaine until 5am and only had two hours sleep when he chose to drive the three hours home.
Officers found an open bottle of red wine in the cup holder, which Newman claimed he had a sip of as his mouth was "dry".
Tests found he was over twice the legal blood alcohol level and still had traces of cocaine in his system.
He was jailed for nine years and four months in April after admitting causing death by dangerous driving.
Speaking after the hearing, Rhiannon said: "I feel lost without my children. No one understands what I'm going through.
"I know I'm still in shock and I haven't processed exactly what has happened.
"I constantly feel like I'm riding an up and down wave and I don't know when it is going to stop.
"The man responsible for this has taken everything I had. I don't care about me, I'm an adult who can fight and stand up for myself, but my children were not able to do that.
"If that man was not on the road that day my children would still be here."
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Newman, who will serve half his sentence in custody, also pleaded guilty to seriously injuring Rhiannon and to being twice over the drink driving limit.
He was banned from driving for ten years with an extension of four years and eight months while he is in custody.
