A WOMAN who lost her entire family in a car crash while on holiday in the UK is holding a special "remorial" to honour their memory.
Elber Twomey from Meelin and Rockchapel, Co. Cork, lost her husband Con Twomey, her 16-month-old son Oisin, and her unborn baby Elber-Marie in Devon in July 2012, when a suicidal Polish taxi driver rammed his car into theirs.
The family were on their way home to Ireland following a holiday in the area.
26-year-old Marek Wojciechowski wrote a suicide note before leaving his home that morning.
It was found by his partner Agnieszka who alerted local police.
A Devon Constable spotted him hours later and signalled for him to pull over, which was when Wojciechowski made the decision to drive into the Cork family.
38-year-old Con died from his injuries almost ten months after the collision.
Baby Oisin and the unborn baby girl died within hours of the crash.
Five years ago she founded a remorial event in her hometown in Cork, and this year, she has invited a senior UK police official from Devon and Cornwall who helped investigate the tragedy.
Chief Superintendent Jim Nye will travel to Rockchapel on Saturday morning to kick off the ‘Connie Twomey Memorial Cup’, before having lunch at Elber’s home and joining locals for a table quiz later that evening.
The weekend raises money for various charitable causes and Elber stressed that the purpose of the weekend is to honour the memory of her loved ones.
She told the Irish Examiner: “I don’t want anyone to go through the nightmare that I have endured.
“I had to find forgiveness in my heart. If I didn’t I would have faced a life full of bitterness and anger”.
Since the crash, Elber has been praised for her work in promoting road safety and better resources for police.
She recently received an award from the Road Safety Authority for her courageous campaigning.
She was also invited to Westminster to speak about road safety issues.
You can find out more about the Con Twomey Remorial Weekend here.
