In December 2020, Courtney Davies died in a fatal collision on the A15 at Bishop Norton. This video was released by the Lincolnshire Road Safety Partnership and Lincolnshire Police to serve as a reminder to all, to use our roads safely and take the greatest care when in charge of a vehicle.
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00:00I said, I'm so sorry, but Courtney's died, so I had to tell my dad in the car.
00:07And so we turned around, we went home, and everybody was just in pieces.
00:13Courtney is my oldest daughter.
00:16She was an events manager, so involved in weddings.
00:21A lot of people have said that she lit up a room.
00:31She loved to sing, especially country music, and she would sing everywhere.
00:38She was kind-hearted, she had a wicked sense of humour and a giggle to go with it.
00:45Courtney was one of those people where every time she came in a room, you knew that you were going to be laughing.
00:50She always was cracking jokes, she was always dancing and singing.
00:54There was one time she took me to a Carrie Underwood concert because it was her favourite artist.
00:58And that's probably one of my favourite memories with her, but she was just so upbeat.
01:13When it happened, it wasn't really the classic knock on the door out of nowhere.
01:17We knew that something had happened, we were trying to get in touch with Courtney.
01:22And she would always either text or call us to let us know she was okay.
01:27And that particular night we couldn't get a hold of her.
01:30Me and my dad decided that we go out and go look for her, because we'd heard there had been an accident on the A15, the road that she was travelling on.
01:38My dad and I got in the car, it was just a normal kind of winter's night I suppose, no kind of rain, no snow, anything like that, but it was dark.
01:48Amy and I were looking up the driveway and we saw headlights and we ran out and we saw police written on the side.
01:59So in that moment, I just, I think I knew.
02:04And the two officers came in and at that time they weren't sure if it was Courtney, they were asking what she looked like.
02:17And if this was her car.
02:20And then the one officer went out and asked me to wait a minute and he was on his radio and I remember following him out and saying, just tell me, just tell me.
02:31And clearly at that time he was trying to get confirmation.
02:35I said to my sister, my twin before I left, as soon as she gets home you call me, as soon as that phone rings, you call me.
02:44So as me and dad were driving down the road, my sister called me and I thought, great, she's home, Courtney's home.
02:52And I picked up the phone and I could hear my mom wailing in the background, so upset.
02:58I could hear officers talking and their kind of microphones going off.
03:04And it was my sister's boyfriend and he said, I'm so sorry, but Courtney's died.
03:11And so I had to tell my dad in the car.
03:16And so we turned around, we went home.
03:20And everybody was just in pieces.
03:24The officers were stood near the doorway and my mom was kind of, and my sister and her boyfriend were all in different rooms.
03:31And it just was so chaotic.
03:35Nobody really knew what to do, what to say, what we needed to do next.
03:38She was doing nothing wrong.
03:42It's a busy road.
03:44There was an LGV going the other way.
03:46The stretch is quite narrow.
03:48He felt he was a little close to an HGV coming the other way.
03:51So he had moved over slightly and started to go off the road.
03:56And he then went to move back over and overcorrected.
04:03So that ended up clipping three other vehicles.
04:06And then Courtney, her car was taken off the road with the impact.
04:14And she was the only one who didn't walk away that night.
04:18I think a lot of people think, oh, well, if someone's drinking or on drugs and that's when accidents happen.
04:24But actually they happen regardless at any time without those factors included.
04:29So I think it's important to raise that awareness.
04:31So people think about when they get in the car about safety, their safety, other people's safety.
04:37Courtney doesn't have a voice anymore.
04:39And this is the most terrible thing that can happen.
04:45But from the other side of it, we're also aware that for the officers that have to go in and break this news,
04:53I can't imagine doing that job.
04:55And I vaguely remember saying that to one of the officers that evening.
04:58So much as I didn't like him in that moment, I appreciate how difficult it must be for them.
05:07My sister was that light in the room.
05:09And I think it's left a hole in the family that can never be replaced.
05:28For more information visit www.FEMA.gov