Mum 'broken' after son dies in A44 crash

Gemma Painter said she reached the hospital too late to say goodbye to her son

A mother has been left "broken" after her six-year-old son was killed in a collision involving two cars.

Leo Painter was fatally injured when a Ford Mondeo and a BMW collided on the A44 in Spetchley, Worcester.

Two other women aged 26 and 39 were also killed and two men remain in hospital, following the crash last Thursday.

Leo had been living with foster carers in Kidderminster at the time, but was due to be reunited with his mother, Gemma Painter, next month.

Leo was a very active little boy and loved St George's Park in Kidderminster

A West Mercia Police investigation into the crash is continuing, although no arrests have been made.

Discussing Leo's loss, Ms Painter, from Worcester, said: "It has broken me that I will never see him again."

She had been at home on Thursday when her social worker told her Leo had been seriously injured.

Ms Painter was told to get to the hospital as soon as possible, but it was already too late by the time she got there.

"They told me I needed to go to hospital to be with him, but unfortunately he was dead when I got there," she said.

Ms Painter last saw her son in December and was looking forward to seeing him again in March.

Hope for memorial bench

She said: "It was all going well for him to come home, my mental health had improved and I had a good social worker who was willing to listen to me and help me, but now it is not.

"Everyone is struggling to come to terms with it because it should not have happened - he was only six.

"He changed my life when I had him and I just want to make sure he knows how much he was loved and how much he will be remembered by everyone."

Referring to the support she has received from strangers, she said: "I have been overwhelmed by it all.

"Thank you so much for everything, all the donations, the support from everyone."

She has started a GoFundMe page to help pay for Leo's funeral and is hoping to have a memorial bench put in his favourite park - St George's in Kidderminster.

Police have renewed an appeal for witnesses of the crash, which happened at 15:00 GMT on 22 February.

Ch Insp Mark Davidson described it as "an incredibly sad incident".