Family ask heartbreaking question after girl, 7, and aunt killed in house fire a mile from A66 crash site
The family of a seven-year-old girl who died in a devastating house fire alongside her aunt have spoke of their heartbreak.
Valentina Foster was staying with her relative Natalie McDonald, 34, at a property in Grangetown, near Middlesbrough, when a blaze ravaged the home on Wednesday (26 August).
Neighbours have told how the 'entire house was scorching' as flames took hold, while police have refused to rule out a connection between the deadly incident and the A66 crash.
The house fire that has left two dead and another woman seriously injured was less than a mile away from the site of a crash on the A66 which killed seven people, including two police officers.
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Two men - aged 23 and 31 - have been arrested on suspicion of murder in wake of the blaze and remain in custody, Cleveland Police said.
Middlesbrough has been rocked by multiple tragedies in recent days following the deaths of PC Matthew Blades, 37, and PC Tom Clough, 38, on Saturday (22 August).
The pair were killed when a Volkswagen Passat was driven the wrong way along a dual carriageway near Middlesbrough and hit their marked armed response vehicle.
Five people travelling in the Volkswagen - Cole Robert Worthy, 17, Theo Rae, 17, Makai Saddington, 18, and 23-year-olds Michael Robert Cahill and Jacob Matusiak - were pronounced dead at the scene.
More than a dozen arrests have been made following the deadly incident.
Cleveland Police are now investigating another tragedy in the area after a fire broke out at the property Valentina and Natalie were inside in the early hours of Wednesday morning.
The force confirmed two people had died, 'including one child', who have yet to be formally identified.
A 48-year-old woman remains in a critical condition in the Royal Victoria Infirmary (RVI) in Newcastle following the inferno, while three other people also suffered injuries which are believed to be non life-threatening.
Cops said that the force is 'keeping an open mind and cannot rule out any links to wider organised crime at this time'.
Tributes have been pouring in for the victims of the house fire, including from Valentina's grandmother Valerie Foster who said: "Life is so cruel. My beautiful granddaughter, Valentina."
Another relative, Sarah Harland-Foster, said: "Why, why, why? All I keep telling myself. My heart’s absolutely torn to bits. Back in the arms of your dad my beautiful girl."
'Why you? You're just a baby'
And a third family member, Billie-Jo Foster, heartbreakingly asked: "Aw my Valentina. How? Why you? You're just a baby."
Lisa Kirton, Natalie’s grieving mother, told The Times that her daughter ‘was a beautiful, bubbly person who everyone knew’ and that Valentina was ‘a very cute girl’.
She said: "She had a heart of gold who would give anyone anything. She left behind a daughter with no parents.
"We live opposite and were woken up at about 5am and there were people getting dragged out of fires when we were there at the scene.
"We were waiting for Natalie to come out and after about three hours police told us she had died."
In an interview with the BBC, she said Valentina, known as Tina, had been spending the summer holidays with her family.
She said: "She was a cute little kid. I can't believe it, seven years old - it's just a disgrace."
A 20-year-old neighbour described running up and down the street, shouting to raise the alarm, and how local residents tried to rescue the occupants.
"The entire house was scorching," the eyewitness said. "I couldn’t get near the front of the house, it was that hot."
A fundraiser for the families of PC Blades and PC Clough hit a whopping £1 million on Wednesday.
Olivia Burke