Distraught mum’s desperate 4-word plea in panicked 3am phonecall after baby son & sister, 30, killed in A1 horror crash
A MUM whose baby and sister were killed in an A1 horror smash has revealed the desperate plea she made during the tragic incident.
Drink-driver Darryl Anderson, 38, took a photo of his speedometer showing that he was travelling at 141mph moments before smashing into a car carrying eight-month-old Zackary Blades.
He then failed to help frantic mum Shalorna Warner, 26, look for little Zackary, who was flung from the vehicle onto the opposite carriageway of the A1 in County Durham.
Shalorna’s flight attendant sister Karlene, 30, was also killed in the incident at around 3am on May 31.
Anderson was earlier this week jailed at Durham Crown Court for 17 years and three months after admitting two counts of causing death by dangerous driving.
He denied unlawfully possessing a knife and an axe at the time of the crash – and his plea accepted by prosecutors.
Shalorna tearfully recalled how she hugged her “rainbow” baby, before he and his aunt were declared dead at the scene.
She has now revealed how she tried phoning her dad – who she always contacts in times of emergency – and her mum answered the phone.
Shalorna told the Daily Mail: “She couldn’t make sense of what I was saying but she knew that if I was calling at that time, it was bad. I remember saying, screaming ‘They are gone, they are gone’.”
Shalorna revealed how she desperately said four words – “I can’t find Zack” – and repeated the phrase “I’m sorry”.
The family decided to have a joint funeral for Shalorna’s son and sister
Shalorna said: “How do you grieve twice? It’s Zack I think of every minute, but I think I just haven’t begun to grieve for Karlene yet.
“I miss her so much. We told each other everything. She’s the one I would have been able to phone and say ‘I can’t do this’, but she’s not here.”
Anderson showed a shocking disregard for his actions, with a police bodycam capturing him saying: “I’ve drove into the back of another car. Sometimes mistakes happen, but I’m not a bad person.”
He continued his callous behaviour in hospital, where he joked with nurses.
Sharlona tearfully told how she was left searching for her son.
She had previously said: “I remember a scream, then we stopped. I looked to Karlene, she was pushed so far forward head first into the dashboard.
“I shouted her name, waiting for her to make a sound or move. In my head, I thought: ‘Karlene I will come back to you, I need to get to my baby’.
“I exited the car. I ran around to the left rear side where Zackary would have been, there was no back of the car – it was crushed.
“He wasn’t there. I was screaming for his name. I called 999 at 3.19am. This has all just happened within two minutes.
“That’s when I saw the other driver (Darryl Anderson). I ran to him. He didn’t help… he never helped.
“About 100 meters away I found his (Zackary’s) car seat. It was crushed. I turned it over, he still wasn’t there.”
Sharlona revealed how a lorry driver then screamed out “oh no, he’s here – your baby’s here”.
She then found Zackary “lying on the edge of the grass of the motorway”.
The distraught mum added: “I knew instantly. I had to pick my dead baby up from the side of the road. I hugged him so tight, a hug I will never forget.
“No words will surmount the irreparable hole that has been left in my heart and in my life.
“Zackary was my rainbow baby – he was the light at the end of a tunnel of a very dark time for me and brought joy, happiness, and laughter into my life.
“I will feel the ripples of this pain for the rest of my life. I don’t know if I will be able to get through this – I am scarred, I am traumatised, I am petrified to live my life.
“The impact of these events will amplify the hard times and taint any good moment I may possibly have, because within my heart lives Zackary and Karlene, and I will never live a normal life again without them.”
The horror unfolded as Sharlona and Zackary picked up cabin crew worker Karlene in her Peugeot 308 from Newcastle Airport.
Anderson had been drinking excessively on a plane back from a holiday in Turkey which he cut short after rowing with his wife.
The driver, who was travelling in an Audi Q5, then crashed into the trio between Chester-Le-Street and Durham at around 3am – killing both Zackary and his aunt.
Shalorna suffered minor injuries in the tragedy.
Anderson was breathalysed at the scene and blew 95mg of alcohol per 100ml of breath – the legal limit being 35mg.
Police also found an empty vodka bottle in the wreckage of his car.
He had taken took a photograph on his phone showing the speedometer at 141mph just three seconds before the crash.
The snap even showed the vehicle was flashing a red collision warning alert but the court heard he was too drunk to notice the Peugeot being driven by Sharlona.
Analysis after the horror revealed he had the accelerator all the way to the floor, did not brake before impact and that a collision warning light was illuminated on the dashboard.
Sharlona and Zackary’s dad later paid tribute to their son, saying: “I’m so sorry you never got to grow up.
“Our little Zack – mammy and daddy love you so much, you didn’t deserve any of this.
“You were such a happy, cheeky boy.
“I am so sorry this has happened – our hearts are truly broken. We will never forget you, you will always be in our hearts.”
The family also paid tribute to Karlene, saying: “How do we put into words to describe the amazing mother, partner, daughter, sister, granddaughter, auntie, niece, and friend Karlene was?”
While Shalorna will have to live with the unthinkable trauma of this event for the rest of her life, Anderson will likely be able to get behind the wheel again one day.
She stressed the Anderson – who got a ban of 21-and-a-half years – had previously been disqualified, so he had already been given a second chance.
She said: “On what planet does he deserve a third chance?”
Shalorna is now hoping people will sign a petition to introduce mandatory lifelong driving bans for deaths caused by dangerous driving.
It currently has more than 4,000 signatures.