Tributes paid to four young men killed when their car crashed into a house in Calne in Wiltshire
Watch Sangita Lal's full report
Tributes have been paid to the four young men who died in a road traffic collision near Calne.
They were killed early on Sunday 16 August when the car they were travelling in crashed into a house on the A4 at Derry Hill and caught fire.
The families of Ryan Nelson, 20, Corey Owen, 19, Matthew Parke, 19, and Jordan Rawlings, 20, are now being supported by specially trained police officers. All four men were from Calne. Their families have issued the following tributes:
Ryan Nelson
"Ryan, our ray of sunshine. He lightened up everyone's life, a truly wonderful gentleman, so polite with lovely morals."Ryan worked in Tesco. He loved it there as he was with his friends. He was a massive football fan. He supported Aldershot Town FC and Manchester United. He was a very talented DJ, it was something he wished to pursue in the future."Ryan was loved by everyone. He has the most beautiful soul. So handsome, he loved all his designer gear, had so much pride. Our lives are empty without him. Our precious, precious boy xxxxxxx".
Matthew Parke
"Matthew William Parke, known as Mattie to us his family, and known as Matt to his friends."Mattie was a very happy boy – he woke up every day with a smile on his face. He was never sad. He was enthusiastic about everything in life, full of energy, confident and outgoing. He always had somewhere to go, somewhere to be, someone to see. He also had a wicked sense of humour."He was extremely sociable and loved going out with his very wide circle of friends – they meant so much to him and he loved them as if they were his family. Many of them had known Mattie for much of his life and these were bonds that could never be broken."He played hard and he worked hard. We were so proud of the fact that he really focused on his studies and always did his very best. He achieved 10 GCSEs and 3 A-levels. After completing his A-levels last summer, he went to Swansea University to start his degree in Business Management. He had a ball and made even more good friends. He was excited that he was due to be returning to Swansea at the beginning of September and had already got a house lined up that he was going to be sharing with seven of his university friends."His life may have been short – he was just 19 years old – but he packed so much into those years he really did."We as a family are utterly devastated to lose our beautiful, precious boy as are so many others who played a part in his life."
Jordan Rawlings
"Jordan was a ray of sunshine, who always had a cheeky smile, a wicked sense of humour and a contagious laugh that would put a smile on everybody's face."The loss of our beautiful son/brother/grandson/nephew and cousin has left a hole in all of our hearts, but we were proud as a family to have had him in our lives."We would just like to thank the emergency services and everyone who was involved in this tragic loss of these four young men. Our hearts go out to the other families and all their friends. It is apparent from all the kind messages and condolences that Jordan, Matt, Corey and Ryan have touched many people's hearts within their short lives."We are lost and devastated with the passing of our beautiful boy but we know he will always be with us and would just like to be able to grieve as a family in peace."
Corey Owen
"Our cherished precious son, brother, grandson and nephew, taken from us so tragically. He was the most kind and loving young man, loved and adored by his family, brother, little sisters, girlfriend and his friends. He had such a happy, easy going nature, he was so popular and loved dearly by everyone, so so many people thought the world of him."Having recently passed his college course he was looking ahead to university, with hope for a bright future filled with such potential, love and happiness. His loss will leave a huge gap in all our lives forever. We are utterly devastated."
The victims were popular members of the community and hundreds of flowers have been laid near the scene of the crash in memory of them.
Three of the young men were pupils at John Bentley School in Calne, now Kingsbury Green Academy.
The head teacher, Jason Tudor, has this message of condolence from staff:
"Three of the boys were ex-students of the former John Bentley school and were well known to us. They were important members of our community during the formative part of their lives. They had grown up during their time with us, forming bonds of friendship that would extend beyond their time at school. They enriched the lives of so many members of our community with their humour and care. They were a credit to themselves, to the school and to their families.
"Each member of our community has positive memories of these outstanding young men. We each have stories about how they affected our lives on an individual level and how their energy, spirit and passion for life makes our roles as educators worthwhile. When they left school to pursue the next chapter of their lives, we were proud of the young men they had become and are proud still of the impact that they had on the world in the time they were with us.
"Our thoughts are with the families and friends of Matt, Ryan, Cory and Jordan. We cannot begin to imagine what pain you must be experiencing right now. We share your sadness and your loss and recognise that the world is a darker place today than it was."
The community is mourning the loss of four young lives and candles have been lit at St Mary the Virgin Church in Calne. The rector, Rev Bob Kenway, says "We can think and pray for the families directly involved and that extensive network of friends that there are because these are four young people with busy social lives.
"These are people that we also hold in our thoughts and prayers too because they will all be traumatised by this".
There is a memory box at the church for people to leave handwritten messages. They will be collected together into a book of condolence for the families.
The investigation into the crash continues. Inspector Mark Freeman, from Wiltshire Police’s roads policing unit, says: "The collision on Sunday was a truly tragic incident and I would like to offer my sincere condolences to the families of Ryan, Corey, Matthew and Jordan."Four families have been left devastated, losing young men who were just starting their adult lives and our thoughts are with them all at this difficult time."I know that this tragedy has also had a huge impact on the town of Calne and those first to respond to the incident. The local community has pulled together to provide each other with the necessary support."Investigations of this nature are understandably complex and we have a team of collision investigators carrying out thorough enquiries to understand exactly what happened."We have already spoken to a number of witnesses, but if you have any information which you think could assist us then we would urge you to call us."Anyone with information should call Wiltshire Police on 101, quoting reference 54200081649.