Father pays emotional tribute to heroic daughter

The father of a heroic Stratford mum who sacrificed herself to save her daughter’s life has described her as always smiling and happy.

Rachael Martin, 29, died on 20 May when she was struck by a car transporter on Western Road whilst walking her daughters Keira and Leah to the Willows Primary School.

It is believed Rachael died whilst trying to save five-year-old Keira, who suffered serious injuries in the collision.

In the days since Rachael’s death, family and friends have been quick to pay their tributes describing her as a popular woman, whose children were the centre of her world.

The middle of three daughters, Emma, 28, and Laura, 31, Rachael had a number of nieces and nephews and was part of a close family.

Speaking to the Herald this week, Rachael’s father William Simpson, 60, of Curley Close in Stratford, said: “It was an incredible thing that Rachael did for her daughter. Rachael was a great mother, a great daughter and a great sister.

“The thing about Rachael was that she was always smiling, always happy.

“After the incident my work received a phone call telling me something had happened, I called home and my daughter said there had been a bad accident and I should go to Birmingham Children’s Hospital. It was only when I got there that I found out that my daughter had died.

“I just couldn’t believe it at first, I know it was an accident, but not my daughter.

“The first thing Keira said to me when I got there was ‘mummy saved my life, mummy saved my life’, she just kept repeating it.

“The main thing Rachael lived for was her children. My daughter Emma has been reading all the posts people have been putting up on facebook, everyone has been saying what a great mother she was.

“Keira was badly injured in the incident, she was taken to Birmingham Children’s Hospital to be stabilised and she has now been taken to St George’s Hospital in London who specialise in treating pelvic injuries. She had operations last Friday to stabilise her and a further one on Tuesday to relieve some of the pressure in her legs. Her pelvis and the bottom of her spine are badly fractured and some of her internal organs have been torn. She is having a major operation this Friday.

“Myself or my wife are there every day. We make sure she is never on her own. The hospital have been fantastic. I am taking Leah to see her sister tomorrow (Thursday). We’re all going to be going down there and we’ll stay as long as it takes to be close to Keira.

“The girls have received lots of cards from friends and we've had lots of flowers. People have been so supportive. Rachael had two sisters, Emma and Laura, we’ve always been a close family and we’re going to stick together and help each other through this.”

William said Rachael had ambitions to go back to college and gain the qualifications needed to become a teaching assistant and was in the process of deciding what she wanted to do with her future.

Speaking about the collision, William praised the actions of bystanders and the staff at a local garage for how they helped Leah at the scene.

He added: “The staff at the Audi garage were so supportive immediately after the incident and looked after Leah because she was so shocked. A lady called Hannah took her off and kept her occupied and gave her a teddy and chocolates until the ambulance arrived. Now Leah says she wants to name the teddy after Hannah and wants to go back to see her.

“The children just don’t know what’s going on at the moment. They haven’t come to terms with it. Rachael’s children were her life, everything she did was for her children and now she has died for her children.

“For me and my wife Susan, our main concern now is our grandchildren.”

William said the support provided to Leah by the Willows Primary School had been fantastic, and his family’s focus was on keeping things as normal as they possibly can be for her during this difficult time.

Alison Staley, school manager at the Willows Primary School said: “I was deeply saddened and shocked to hear about the incident on Western Road on Friday morning.

“We are working closely with the County Council’s Educational Psychology Service to support the whole school community and our thoughts and prayers are with the family and friends of all those involved.”