Man's tribute to 'kind and caring' wife and son killed in hit-and-run

A man whose wife and son were killed by a hit-and-run driver as they returned from holiday says his life has been "ruined".

Angela and Stephen Boyack were involved in a head-on collision with a car being driven by 27-year-old Joshua Hill on the A632 Chesterfield Road at Span Carr, near Kelstedge, Derbyshire on 9 December 2023.

Mrs Boyack died instantly. Her son died later in hospital.

Hill, of Wheata Road in Sheffield, fled the scene and was on the run for two days before being arrested. He pleaded guilty to causing death by dangerous driving on the first day of his trial at Derby Crown Court and was jailed for 13 years.

Mrs Boyack's husband Billy and their other son Alex witnessed the crash as they travelled in the vehicle behind.

Mr Boyack said: “I am still constantly having the most horrific and soul sickening flashbacks to the collision which continue to be crippling for me."

He said the deaths of his wife and son had left a hole in their community in South Shields.

"Angela was a caring, loving wife and friend to me and loving mother to both Alex and Stephen," he said.

"Losing my wife Angela and my son Stephen has ruined my life in every sense of the word and meaning.

"Angela was everything to me. In losing her I have realised what it was that she did for me and for us as a family – all the little things that don’t get done now because they were not something I had to think about.

"The house is not the same, everything is a constant and unbearably painful reminder of her – everywhere I go I see her and cannot stop thinking about the loss and pain that this has caused.”

Alex Boyack said of his brother: “Stephen was not just my younger brother, he was my best friend. We were like a double act, we would play console games together, go play pool with friends together, go out and socialise together. We got on so well, we would know what each other was thinking at times.

“My biggest fear has always been of losing Stephen. I even had dreams before the collision that Stephen would one day die and I would be on my own. I’d wake up in a panic thinking it was real then would get relief when I’d wake to find it wasn’t. Sadly now I wake up and never get that relief anymore because this is real and it’s a living nightmare.”

Mr Boyack said there were no words to describe his "disgust and contempt" for Hill.

“Hill’s actions on that day have robbed me of my wife and my son and has destroyed my life," he said. "I will never forgive him or forget his actions and the damage he has done."

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