Mother’s TRIPLE tragedy as son dies following deaths of father and step-father in road accidents

A mother has revealed her heartbreak at the death of her son, 12, who was killed after he ran out from behind a bus and into the path of a car – with his father and stepfather both also previously dying in road accidents.    

Taylor Swift was in ‘good spirits’ and his ‘usual cheeky self’ when he went out with friends after school on February 15 last year, an inquest heard today.

But tragedy struck that afternoon when the ‘oblivious’ schoolboy ran from behind a stationary bus with his head down and into an oncoming vehicle in Bridlington, East Yorkshire.

Taylor was rushed from the scene to hospital in Leeds, where he died from ‘massive’ and ‘unsurvivable’ injuries on February 16.

The boy’s death is the third such tragedy to strike his heartbroken mother Katie Tolley.

Taylor’s father Stuart Swift died in a road accident 12 years ago before her husband, Andy Tolley, died in a horrific motorcycle accident in 2018.

In statement read to Hull Coroner’s Court Mrs Tolley said she rushed to the scene of the crash after hearing her son was involved in an accident.

She said: ‘Losing Taylor has changed my life forever. It has totally devastated me and my family.’

The heartbroken mother added that her son had been affected by his step-fathers death. 

She explained: ‘The death of Andrew affected Taylor badly and he began to suffer emotional and behavioural changes.

‘He struggled at school but went to a hub in Willerby where he received one-to-one tuition which he responded well to.

‘On the day he died he was fit, happy and well. I called him shortly before to tell him to come home for tea. I could hear him laughing with his friends. He was in good spirits and I heard his cheeky laugh.

‘Not long after, I heard about the accident on Brett Street.’

The inquest heard Taylor was spotted an hour before the accident running along a road ‘oblivious’ to the traffic.

A car had to brake to avoid hitting him as he ran across the road, the court was told.

The coroner, professor Paul Marks, reached a conclusion that it had been an accident and nobody was to blame.

The boy’s death is the third such tragedy to strike his heartbroken mother Katie Tolley, after the death of Taylor’s father Stewart and step-father Andy (pictured together) 

He said it had been a ‘low velocity’ impact, adding that there was ‘no opportunity’ for the driver to avoid the collision.

The coroner said the deaths of both Taylor’s father and stepfather had exacted a ‘terrible emotional toll’ on Mrs Tolley.

The motorist was later dealt with for driving without insurance but not charged with any other offence, it was heard.

One man who was walking along at the time described how he desperately tried to warn Taylor before he was hit.

In a statement he said: ‘I was walking along Brett Street at around 5.30pm on February 15, 2019, when I saw this boy running full pelt.

‘He was running towards Brett Street and there was a double decker bus in the road.

‘I then saw the black car driving at about 15-20mph and the boy was running across behind the bus.

‘I could see what was going to happen and I shouted to the boy ‘car!’ but he continued into the road and the driver had no time to react. He couldn’t have seen the boy behind the bus.

‘The boy was hit and the car stopped quickly. I dropped my bag and ran to the boy. He was drifting in and out of consciousness so I put him in the recovery position.

‘We tried to comfort him and he had a large lump in the back of his head. At one point he tried to get up but he was very confused.

‘I wish I could have done more to prevent it. I hope the family takes some comfort from the fact he didn’t appear to be in pain.’

Another man was driving down Brett Street when he witnessed the collision.

He said: ‘It all seemed to happen in just a couple of seconds.

‘I got out and picked it up and ran to him. The boy was breathing and I was talking to him and trying to reassure him.’