'Talking to another grieving dad saved my life'

Chris Tuczemskyi (left) credits phone calls with Ben Kennedy for helping him cope after his partner died

A man whose partner was killed as she pushed their young daughter clear of an oncoming lorry has praised the "life-saving" support he has received from a bereavement charity.

Rebecca Ableman was seriously injured when she was struck on 22 September 2022, in the couple's home village of Willingham, Cambridgeshire, and died three weeks later, aged 30.

Her partner, Chris Tuczemskyi, is to climb Mount Kilimanjaro, Africa's tallest mountain, to raise money for StrongMen, the charity that helped him after her death.

"I'm not religious or anything, but being on top of a mountain makes me feel I might be closer to Becky," said.

Chris Tuczemskyi says their two-year-old daughter does not fully understand what happened to her mother

The couple's daughter Autumn, then two years old, was in a pram that a witness saw Ms Ableman push out of the lorry's path.

A 69-year-old man from Norfolk has been charged with causing death by dangerous driving and is due to go on trial in April.

Mr Tuczemskyi, 36, said mother and daughter were "like two peas in a pod" and that, following his partner's death, he struggled to know how to be both parents for Autumn.

Looking for support, he was connected by StrongMen to Ben Kennedy, who became a single parent after his wife died in 2021 while 29 weeks' pregnant.

Mr Kennedy had contacted the organisation himself, offering someone else the same support the charity had provided him.

Becky Ableman and her daughter Autumn were "like two peas in a pod", Mr Tuczemskyi said

"I was spiralling down. I couldn't see a way out," said Mr Tuczemskyi, a product marketing manager.

"No-one could seem to understand what I was going through; what I was feeling.

"I'd lost the rock in my life and, essentially, had to be both parents to a two-year-old."

'Help is available'

He said he had been having "horrible thoughts" and felt guilty.

"But Ben gave me validation that I wasn't going crazy and it was perfectly normal to have all the feelings I was going through and all this guilt I was feeling," he said.

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Mr Tuczemskyi says the StongMen peer support saved his life

There were still moments that left him unsure, he added.

"There's a milestone in November. Autumn will have been without her mum longer than she has been with her mum; that's difficult to deal with," he said.

Mr Tuczemskyi will be tackling the 19,340ft (5,895m) Tanzanian peak next month in aid of StrongMen.

He said he aimed to raise awareness of the charity and spread the message that "help is available".

Mr Kennedy said: "When I see photos of Chris and his daughter and all the milestones they're hitting, it's been incredible for me as well.

"To hear him now, two years in, about to climb Kilimanjaro, and his daughter's just started school... it's absolutely amazing."