Dad’s heartbreak after ‘horror movie’ crash killed six-month-old baby ‘everyone loved’ as he packed up inside car park
A HEARTBROKEN dad has spoken out after a “horror movie” crash in a multi-storey car park killed his six-month-old baby.
Sophia Kelemen died from severe brain injuries after being airlifted to a Cardiff hospital following the tragedy at Tenby, Pembrokeshire, on January 2.
The six-month-old had been on holiday with her father Alex, 27, and mother Betty, 26, and they were preparing to return home to Manchester when tragedy struck.
Mr Kelemen, from Leigh, said his daughter’s death was like “a horror movie”.
Mr Kelemen told the BBC: “Just before we got to the car, the horror movie started. It’s hard to know and to think about what happened.
“It’s been horrific to see our little daughter being in that bed and go through all those procedures.”
Sophia was taken to hospital and underwent surgery as a result of her injuries, but the “little star” died the next day.
He continued: “Everybody loved her, all of our friends. She’s always going to live in my heart. I know she’s gonna be watching me every day.”
They have also been trying to explain to their five-year-old son, Lucas, what has happened to his sister.
The youngster has been asking about his little sister every day since it happened.
Mr Kelemen added: “The biggest pain I’ve had was explaining to him that God loved his sister more than we did and God gave Sophia a brand new set of wings so that she could fly over him and protect him.”
Speaking to the MEN, her auntie, Adriana Kelemen, paid tribute to Sophia describing her as “the cutest and most adorable girl”.
“They were on a short break in Wales with family friends,” she said.
“It was their last day. They’d been out, and then they went to the supermarket.
“It happened in the car park. The pram Sophia was in was destroyed.”
Flaviu Naghi, 33, from Wigan, is due to appear at Swansea Crown Court on 7 February charged with causing death by dangerous driving and driving without a licence or insurance.
An inquest into Sophia’s death is expected to open today.
Fundraising efforts were later launched for the family, originally from Romania, who want to take Sophia back to the country for a burial.
Two GoFundMe links have been set up – one in English and the other in Romanian – to help raise money to pay for Sophia’s funeral and repatriation flight to bury her in Romania.
You can donate here.