An NHS midwife broke down in tears in court as she spoke about how her family was ‘shattered in a single moment’ after her husband was killed by a drink driver as he made his way to work.
Cathryn Wilcox recalled how she was on her way home from a night shift at the Royal Bolton Hospital in Greater Manchester when she heard about the horrific crash on the radio – not realising how it was her husband Ian.
The 37-year-old said she only found out that her husband on 13 years when she returned home to find police outside her home.
Cathryn Wilcox (left) recalled the moment she found out that her husband Ian Wilcox (right) was killed in a fatal car crash
Mr Wilcox, 42, was killed when a BMW 530 car smashed head-on into his vehicle after he dropped off the couple’s two children, aged four and 10, with family members so he could make his way to work.
After suffering multiple fatal injuries, Mr Wilcox died later in hospital. Her husband’s killer Violeta Taraskevic from Bolton, failed a roadside breathlyser test and has now pleaded guilty to causing death by careless driving whilst over the drink drive limit.
The 34-year-old killer sobbed in the dock as Mrs Wilcox fought back the tears as she described how her family had been ripped apart by the fatal collision.
Mr Wilcox, 42, was killed when a BMW 530 car smashed head-on into his vehicle after he dropped off the couple’s two children so he could go to work
Speaking about her family, Mrs Wilcox said: ‘We were a team, we shared everything, did everything together, we’re exceptionally content with our lives.
‘Then leaving for my night shift on August 6, my wonderful husband and I had a brief kiss – how was I to know it would be the last time I would see him?’
She told the court that ‘her whole world had shattered’ and that her first thought was how could she tell her two young daughters that they would never see their father again.
She added: ‘My first thought was how on earth would I tell our girls that their daddy has died? Our family, our team, broken. I felt frightened to see them and look at them as I was about to break their hearts. They knew on seeing me something was very wrong, I prepared them as best I could.
‘My heart shattered more than I thought was possible. Our eldest daughter was terrified to close her eyes as she could imagine the crash and her daddy hurting. We had to making preparations to send Ian off with a celebratory farewell rather than choosing our holiday.
Mrs Wilcox said the first thought she had when she found out about her husband’s death would how would she tell her two daughters, aged four and 10
She added: ‘All the missed opportunities and special occasions Ian will miss where the girls will need their daddy, first day of school, last day of school, prom, boyfriends and so on.
‘We bought our own home last year and now instead of laughter there’s worry as I’m uncertain whether we will be able to carry on. Our lives without Ian will without a doubt never be the same.’
Prosecutor David Lees said Taraskevic, who was a mental health worker, was driving her husband home in his BMW at 5am after collecting him from a friend’s house, where he himself had been drinking heavily.
A cyclist, who witnessed the crash, saw the car speeding at up to 50mph in a 30mph zone just before the car failed to make a left hand bend, sweeping onto the wrong side of the road where it then ploughed into Mr Wilcox’s Chevrolet Matiz, which was travelling the opposite way.
After the crash, police were confused as to who was driving the vehicle after Taraskevic told them ‘I just lost control as I came around the corner, I’m not used to driving the vehicle this is only the second time and the road was wet’. She was then breathlysed again two hours later where she had 68 microgrammes of alcohol in 100 millilitres of breath. The legal limit is 35mg.
Her lawyer Miss Sara Haque told a court that she had drunk two bottles of cider and that she would be fine to get behind the vehicle she had only driven twice.
Talking about the fatal crash, Mrs Wilcox said she ‘her whole world had shattered’ and that her daughters lives will ‘never be the same’
Miss Haque said: ‘She had not eaten also other than grabbing a snack during a break in her shift. Ordinarily he would have driven if the two of them were together particularly being in his vehicle rather than hers, perhaps that does point that there was a recognition that her husband should not be driving as he had been drinking all day.
‘The defendant was anxious to get home now dawn had broken, it was light and the traffic was light on the road at the time. The defendant assumed the road had a 40mph limit – not 30mph. She does not recall anything more than the impact of the journey.
Taraskevic is then said to have got out of her car in a ‘state of panic’ to check on Mr Wilcox and was told at the police station that he had passed away.
Judge Timothy Stead adjourned the case so tests could be carried out to find out what Taraskevic’s breath test reading would have been at the time of impact.
He said: ‘There are people on both sides that are waiting for a sentence but I have to do justice. It’s significant to know whether or not this defendant was under twice the limit or over at the material time.
‘This is too important to guess about and I do need the answers, I can’t do justice here to for the defendant and the family of the deceased without knowing accurately what the position is.’
Taraskevic was remanded in custody and will be sentenced on October 4.