Family of baby killed in A1 crash mark his first birthday with fundraiser for hospital 'haven' rooms

Katie Cole went along to a fundraising event held on what would have been Zackary Blade's first birthday.

The family of a baby who was killed in a crash on the A1 have marked what would have been his first birthday.

Eight-month-old Zackary Blades died in the crash in County Durham in the early hours of 31 May along with his aunt, 30-year-old Karlene Warner.

On Saturday 14 September, Zackary's loved ones gathered to mark his first birthday by holding a family fun day in aid of a "haven" room at hospitals in Durham and Darlington.

Following the crash, Zackary and Karlene were taken to the Royal Victoria Infirmary (RVI) in Newcastle, which has a haven room - a space for grieving families to be together.

However, Darlington Memorial Hospital and the University of North Durham do not.

Zackary's mum Shalorna Warner said having access to the room had been important for her family in the aftermath of the tragedy.

"We have family all over and not all of us live in the North East," she said. "So when we came to visit Zackary and Karlene it was a place we could all be in together.

"Because we know how much they helped us as a family, we were like, not all hospitals have them and we need to get them in as many hospitals as we can.

"Our first one is going to be Darlington and hopefully we will get one in Durham next time."

They held a family fun day at Whitworth Park Academy, in Spennymoor, as part of their efforts to raise £10,000.

Lareesa Warner, Karlene and Shalorna's sister said: "We always wanted to do some sort of charity work so we thought it would be nice for our first event to be Zack's first birthday, so it is technically like his birthday party.

"We want to create a legacy for them because Karlene was perfect - a beautiful human being - and Zack's just an innocent little baby and they don't deserve to be forgotten about."

'The challenge we've got is navigating the rest of my life without them'

Other events are being planned and Karlene's mum Alison is cycling 700 miles from France to County Durham to mark what would have been her daughter's 31st birthday next month.

She said: "It doesn't seem like it's a challenge. I mean I'm not being big-headed but the challenge we've got is navigating the rest of my life without them; getting up every day and not having her Facetime me.

"For the rest of my life I want to do something for them and make something good come from this horrible, horrible thing that we've gone through."

Nigel Warner, Karlene's dad, said: "They have moved mountains to do this and it has really paid off. I am really proud of my girls, of course I am.

"I am sure Karlene and Zackary would be looking down and saying you’ve done this for us."

They have also started a petition calling for lifetime bans for drivers who cause death by dangerous driving.

Darryl Anderson was drunk, had been using his phone and was driving at speeds of up to 141mph before he crashed into the car in which Zackary and Karlene were passengers.

He was jailed for 17 years for causing death by dangerous driving but could one day get his licence back, which is what Shalorna and her family are campaigning against.

She said: "It's got 75,000 signatures, which is amazing and we’ve got a few people on board and police commissioner as well to hopefully be able to take to parliament and them tell us - I would like them to tell me to my face - why this is not a law already.

"To me, if you kill someone by driving, which is dangerous, you shouldn't be given a second chance, because Karlene and Zackary don’t get that second chance."

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