Sister heard about fatal crash in Caernarfon that killed her brother while answering 999 calls

"My heart sank." This is how Abi Lloyd Roberts describes how she felt after a colleague in the Welsh Ambulance service, who took the call the night her brother died,  told her that there had been a fatal collision on the outskirts of Caernarfon.

On 2 June 2023 Abi's brother, Joshua Lloyd Roberts, 19, died while walking home on the A4085, Ffordd Waunfawr, Caeathro near Caernarfon.

On the same night, Abi, 25, was working for the ambulance service, answering 999 calls.

Abi's colleague received a call just after 23:00 reporting a collision that  had happened on the road her brother Josh was planning to walk home on.

After hearing about the call Abi felt something was not right. She asked ‘what's happened? Who?’ 

Abi’s colleague confirmed that a man aged between 19 and 20 had been hit and killed on the road.

"My heart sank. Because about two hours earlier Josh was texting me saying, 'I'm walking home' [on the A4085]"

Abi left the room and tried to call her brother Josh several times, but there was no answer.

'I knew'

Although Abi did not know for certain that Josh was the person who had died, she had a strong feeling that something was wrong, and left work early as she was so worried. 

Shortly after she arrived at her home in Caernarfon, confirmation came from the police that Josh had died.

"I've never screamed so much in my life. Because I knew it was Josh, I just needed someone to confirm it was  him.

"But I knew from the moment the call came in, and I don't know how, but I knew," said Abi.

Josh was originally from Caernarfon, and a student at Cardiff Metropolitan University.

He was a talented footballer who played for his university team, Bontnewydd and Caernarfon Town. He was also an avid fan of Everton and Wales.

“He loved Everton. Football was his religion so to speak," said Abi.

'I really miss him’

Josh and Abi were great friends and his death has been devastating to everyone who knew him. 

"I wake up every morning and hope it's not true. I look at my phone every morning and see his picture and then I remember. It’s horrible, I miss him so much.

"He'll be 19 forever."

After Josh's death, Abi was offered psychological help by her workplace, but eight months after losing her brother, she has decided to leave the ambulance service and is now working elsewhere. 

"I feel like I'm stuck in time, I'm not going back to my work, I have PTSD, I'm afraid that something like that is going to happen again."

Abi was speaking in a programme that follows her and her mother's next steps as they try to find answers about what happened to Josh on June 2, 2023.

Y Byd ar Bedwar: Monday night at 20:00 on S4C, S4C/Clic and BBC iPlayer.