Man looking after 11-year-old girl when crash saw her lose entire family speaks out on moment they found out
The man looking after a young girl who lost her family in a tragic car accident has revealed how they reacted when they first heard of the tragic news.
Poppie is just 11 years old, but in a horror crash that police described as a 'truly horrendous collision', the girl was orphaned as her parents and two younger sisters were killed at the scene.
The incident occurred on the A61 between Barnsley and Wakefield, as mum Shannen Morgan, father Shane Roller, sisters Lillie, four, and Rubie, nine, died on Sunday (21 July).
The family had gone for a Sunday walk before their car had a collision with a motorbike that was driven by a man and woman, who also passed away at the scene.
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Poppie was only safe because of family friend Paul Hepple, 37, who agreed to let her stay with him and his family in Barnsley after she said she didn't want to go on the walk.
Paul explained: "Her mum actually contacted us and asked if we could watch Poppie because she didn’t want to go on the walk that they went on. So we were watching Poppie as she’s best mates with our daughter.
"She was with our daughter having fun. And on their way home, that’s when the accident happened.
"We were having Sunday dinner as a family, and Poppie’s auntie was with us and obviously, Poppie was as well. And then she got a phone call and she ended up leaving really quickly to go and see what happened.”
Paul has now set up a GoFundMe for Poppie to raise money to help with her 'well-being, including her living expenses, education, and any counselling she may need.'
The software developer admitted that none of them were aware of what happened at that point, though the news got to them eventually.
"We saw a post on Facebook that there was an incident and it was terrible."
Paul was heartbroken when he found out about Poppie's family and said he would be there for her no matter what from now on.
The GoFundMe page he set up surpassed its £3,000 goal long ago, having reached over £330,000 at the time of writing.
Paul posted an update to donators on the page, saying: "Thank you all once again for your incredible generosity and support. Your contributions are making a significant difference in Poppie’s life, providing her with the stability and care she needs during this difficult time."
Paul added that the situation was 'awful' and that she had 'very little family left', but said his family will 'look after Poppie if we have to'.
"She can come any time she likes, and we’ll do anything she likes, and we’ll do anything we can to help her,” he concluded.
Police announced the 'tragic accident' in a statement yesterday, while confirming the deaths of the family and the couple on the motorbike.
Joshua Nair