Mum, 32, and son, 6, among three people killed in horror smash after animal lover got out of his car to check on a dead badger
Tony Woodman, 53, was struck and killed as he checked on the badger, while Laura Hopes and her son also died in the ensuing carnage near Devon
A MUM and her six-year-old son are among three people killed in a five-vehicle pile-up which occurred when an animal lover stopped to check a dead badger lying on the side of the road.
Tony Woodman, 53, was struck and killed when he got out of his car to inspect the badger, and Laura Hopes, 32, and her son Alfie also died in the ensuing carnage on the busy A38 holiday route in Devon.
Laura's other child, four-year-old Tommy, survived but was rushed to hospital in Bristol and eight other people were also injured, some seriously.
Tony's fiancee, Kim Gasson, 50, who was in the car with him, revealed today how the July 9th tragedy unfolded.
The couple were going on a day out on the beach at Seaton, Cornwall when they saw "what looked like a cat or a dog" lying in the road.
"Tony loved dogs and he had to have his put down the day before, so we turned back to check", said mum-of-two Kim, of Plymouth.
She parked up on the verge on the side of the road and put her hazard lights on.
"Tony went across the road to check on the animal, and then I could see him walking back. He was opposite me and looking back at me smiling and laughing as if to say it was a badger.
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"I turned away to start my engine, then there was a crunch and then something flew at my car, like a piece of rubber.
"Everything had changed and Tony had gone. It was just a few seconds."
Shopworker Tony had been hit and killed by a car, sparking the pile-up in which killed Saltash mum Laura and her son Alfie.
Kim said that at first she was unaware of what had happened.
"When we were waiting for the police it seemed like a lifetime but it was only a few minutes. They wouldn't let me get out of my car. I kept asking where he was and asked people to look for him."
A police officer broke the heart-breaking news that Tony had been hit by a vehicle and could not be saved.
"I couldn't believe it - it was only a few seconds and he was gone. When I looked behind me it was like something from a film", she said.
They met through a dating website last September and should have moved into their new home together last week.
"We were due to get married on March 17th next year. He asked me on Valentine's Day and I said yes. He loved the bones of me, I know that. He idolised me.
"My whole life has changed. It was so quick."
She said grandad Tony "had a heart of gold"; and was a very caring man.
"We used to go out together on Sundays. He always used to say that Sunday was our day. He used to cuddle me on the settee in the evenings. I miss that so much. He was just a lovely, friendly guy with a big heart."
Thousands of pounds have been raised in support of the family of Laura Hopes, whose husband Lee was not in the car with her and their two children.
Police had to break the dreadful news that his wife and older son were dead and four-year-old Tommy was badly injured.
Tony Woodman's family defended his actions, claiming he did not step into the road and was in fact on the grass verge.
They said he thought a dog had been hit by a car but the animal was in fact a badger.
Police say the tragedy happened "after a car stopped on the road near near Landrake at 11.15am on the morning of Sunday July 9th".
The A38 was closed in both directions until about 7.50pm that evening while officers from Bodmin Roads Policing Team carried out a forensic examination of the scene.
Officers are appealing for any witnesses to the collision to contact them via 10[email protected] or by phone on 101, quoting log number 605 of 09/07/17.
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