Thousands raised in memory of man killed in crash

Ricardo Santos died in a car accident on Warwick Avenue in Normanton on 23 August

Colleagues of a "much loved" Derbyshire salesman who died in a car crash have raised more than £5,000 to support his family.

Ricardo Santos, 23, who moved to Derby from Portugal as a child, was killed when his car hit a tree before crashing into another vehicle in Normanton on 23 August.

Mr Santos' colleagues at Motorpoint Derby set up a fundraising page to cover "big expenses" the family will have to pay following his death, such as flights, hotels and body transport arrangements between the UK and Portugal.

General manager at Motorpoint Derby, Jason Barks, 38, said: "We want to support his family in the best way."

Ricardo's funeral is being held in his hometown in Portugal, where he will be laid to rest.

'Like losing a brother'

Mr Barks said Ricardo started at Motorpoint as a customer service agent five years ago and moved into a sales role around 18 months ago.

“For me he was a perfect student", said Mr Barks. "He was great at his job, a great person to be around, very bubbly and positive.

"He was a proud Portuguese, and his end goal was always to move back there at some point. We loved him being here and we were like his family in the UK.

"The staff know that they are all in this together and have been supporting each other brilliantly.

"It's really broken the hearts of our team, it was like losing a brother."

Colleagues at Motorpoint Derby said Ricardo was a "valued member of the team"

Sales executive at Motorpoint, Georgia Crofts, 21, said setting up the fundraising page will help give Ricardo "the best send off" when he arrives back in Portugal.

“Ricardo was a very valued member of the team and talked a lot about his family," said Ms Crofts.

"They’ve suffered a massive loss, so the least they need to worry about is anything financially. We want to give Ricardo the best send off that we can."

She added: "He had his whole life ahead of him, so it's just shocking and devastating that was taken away from him in seconds.”

Mr Barks said passing over the funds to the family will be "a farewell send off from his friends and family here in Derby".