The grandfather of three children killed in a horror crash with their blogger mother has revealed his heartbreak, choking back tears as he said ‘they’ve gone’.
William Milroy told of his agony after daughter Zoe Powell, 29, was killed alongside daughters Amelia, four, and Phoebe, eight, and son Simeon, six.
They lost their lives after their silver Subaru collided with a HGV on the A40 near Oxford yesterday.
Mr Milroy from Cheltenham, Gloucs, said: ‘Police told us at 5am what had happened. They’ve gone.
‘Police will not even tell us exactly where it happened. They are still investigating.
‘They were going home. I don’t know where they had been but they had recently moved into a new rented house after theirs had burned down.’
Pictured: Zoe Powell, who died in the crash, with Phoebe, eight, Simeon, six, Amelia, four, and her husband Joshua
Emergency services rushed to the scene at 9.50pm to reports of the crash, which took place near to a railway overbridge to the west of Oxford. Pictured: The scene today
Pictured are the floral tributes outside the Community Church in High Street Chinnor today
He added to The Sun: ‘They had moved from place to place but had rented a house long term and were just getting settled.’
Mrs Powell’s husband Joshua, 30, and their 18-month-old daughter were rescued from the wreckage and are today fighting for their lives at John Radcliffe Hospital in the city.
The driver of the HGV, a 56-year-old man, suffered minor injuries.
Emergency services rushed to the scene at 9.50pm on Monday to reports of the crash, which took place near a railway overbridge.
David Patchett, 36, who lives on a narrow boat close to the crash site, was the first to arrive at the scene.
He described hearing a ‘horrendous noise’ which shook through his home, adding others in the area ‘thought it was a sonic boom’.
He said: ‘The car was in the middle of the road, it wasn’t just front-end damage it looked like it had been crumpled like a can.
‘The emergency services turned up very quickly. It was a horrifying thing to see and my first thoughts were nobody had survived, that’s how bad it was.
‘While I was on the phone to police, the man regained consciousness and that’s when I started screaming down the phone ”get someone here now”.’
Emergency services rushed to the scene at 9.50pm on Monday to reports of the crash, which took place near a railway overbridge. Pictured: The child victims
Her husband Joshua, 30, and their 18-month-old daughter were rescued from the wreckage and are today fighting for their lives at John Radcliffe Hospital in the city
Officers remain at the scene and the A40 will remain closed in both directions for a ‘considerable’ period of time while the investigation continues
Friends today said the Powell family has suffered ‘tragedy after tragedy’ after they were forced to move away from their home in Chinnor following a devastating house fire a few months ago.
A neighbour said: ‘They were a lovely family. They were renting somewhere else in Chinnor in the meantime because there was a house fire, as you can see the whole house is boarded up. It is a devastating shame.’
Blogger Mrs Powell ran a website dedicated to her experience of motherhood and sold a diary, The Mama Book, designed to support other parents.
The mother-of-four said on her The Mama Book website: ‘The mama book is a journal and community that was born out of my own need for a space – a physical place to write and focus and reflect on motherhood.
‘When I created this journal for myself I was feeling overwhelmed by the everyday demands of having three young children.
‘One day in the middle of the craziness of having three three-and-unders underfoot I filled a notebook with all the thoughts about mothering that were filling up my head.
‘Since then I have used it daily, tweaked it and refined it. It is the space I wish I had been able to give myself when my first baby was born, and a space that I am continuing to use through each season of mothering.’
Friends today said the Powell family has suffered ‘tragedy after tragedy’ after they were forced to move away from their home in Chinnor following a devastating house fire a few months ago. Pictured: Tributes in Chinnor today
The village where the Powells lived was in deep shock today as news of the tragedy emerged
Mrs Powell had an English Literature degree and said she had a ‘deep love for books, stationary and florals’.
On June 6, 2018, she wrote a post titled ‘these are the good old days’, which talked about her life and how she treasured it.
It went: ‘I don’t want to miss this beautiful life that’s right here, because I am thinking about what’s next or remembering what it was like when they were at a different stage or longing for certain challenges to move on.
‘These are the good old days. At every stage, photos from a few years ago, a year ago, a few months ago, even, remind me that these days are the best.
‘These are the good old days- it just doesn’t always feel like it the time. Seeing myself, my everyday, through the lens of time passed- gives me perspective and clarity on these days right now.
‘These are the good old days. There are crazy, messy, stressful moments, but they are also scattered through with many beautiful, everyday, wonderful moments.
‘Things that we take for granted, which just are the way they are – like the cot they are lowered into, the pram we push, the car seat we buckle or the shoes we tie – they move on and change and we look back and realise that those everyday things were beautiful.’
The village where the Powells lived was in deep shock today as news of the tragedy emerged.
A cross was erected outside Chinnor Community Church in memory of the family who visited weekly.
It said: ‘The cross has been put up in our garden as a focal point for anyone who would like to remember Zoe, Phoebe, Simeon and Amelia Powell, who lost their lives in a road traffic accident on Monday night.
‘As Christians we believe that death is not the end of the road, but just a bend in the road. The road winds only through those paths through which Christ himself has gone.’
Colourful bouquets were scattered underneath the cross for the Powell family, with loving tributes attached.
Officers today remained at the crash site and the A40 was closed in both directions for a ‘considerable’ period of time while the investigation continued
Officers today remained at the crash site and the A40 was closed in both directions for a ‘considerable’ period of time while the investigation continued.
Senior investigating officer Sergeant Dominic Mahon, of the Serious Collision Investigation Unit based at Bicester, said the crash was an ‘absolute tragedy’.
He said: ‘We are in the very early stages of our investigation into this incredibly tragic incident that has resulted in the deaths of four people from the same family.
‘I would appeal to anybody who was driving in the area at the time of the collision and witnessed what happened to please contact 101, or make a report online, quoting reference number 43200321914.
‘I would also urge anybody who has dash-cam footage of the incident or either of the vehicles just prior to the incident to please not share this publicly, but contact police with this detail.
‘The next of kin of the family have been made aware and are being supported by specially trained family liaison officers.
‘Our officers and colleagues from the other emergency services were dealing with an extremely upsetting scene, and I would like to thank them for the work that they carried out overnight.
‘Our officers remain at the scene and the A40 will remain closed in both directions for a considerable period of time while this investigation continues.’