Devastated mum’s heartache as ‘love of her life’ daughter, 26, dies leaving her two kids behind
A DEVASTATED mum today said she lost "the love of her life" after her 26-year-old daughter was killed in a three-car crash.
Sandra Estep, from Kings Langley, Herts., said her world ";blew up" when she was told the unthinkable news that her only daughter had died on Tuesday.
Gracie Estep, 26, was the passenger in a car that collided with two other vehicles in Hemel Hempstead, Herts., earlier this week.
Speaking exclusively to The Sun, Sandra sobbed: "I just can’t get it in my head that I’m never going to see her again. Her poor two babies.
"It’s so tragic. I’m absolutely devastated. She only went to get KFC with her friend who is in intensive care still."
Gracie, who was a full-time mum to her children Alfie, 4 and Ruby, 3 has been praised by her loved ones for the dedication and love she showed them both.
"Alfie and Ruby were the loves of her life. She was a wonderful mum.
I just can’t get it in my head that I’m never going to see her again. She was the love of my life.
Sandra Estep
"They were dressed impeccably, her house was absolutely beautiful, she was a number one mummy with not a lot of money but she gave them everything."
Sandra and husband Bill, who had celebrated their 34th wedding anniversary just two days before the tragedy, said they had "received nothing but love" from everyone who knew and loved their daughter.
She said: "It’s just the worst thing that could ever happen to any parent.
"The influx of love of best wishes we've had from friends and family has eased our pain, but I don’t want to go to sleep because I don’t want to wake up again."
Describing herself as a "mature mummy", Sandra said: "We were together 17 years before we had Grace.
"I had her when I was 34 so she was just the love of my life - the love of our life.
She was so loving, so caring. I’m really, really grateful she was mine. I want her back.
Sandra said how Gracie called her dad Bill, who suffers from Parkinson's, her 'King'.
";He’s a very strong man, but he’s crumbled a couple of times. But I want him to crumble because you can’t bottle this up because it will make you ill. Every time I mention her name, I just can’t stop crying," she added.
The tragedy happened at 5pm on Tuesday along St Albans Road in Hemel Hempstead when her friend's Fiat 500 collided with a silver BMW and a white Toyota.
Gracie's friend was seriously injured in the smash and remains in hospital. The drivers of the other two vehicles were also hurt.
Sandra said how it happened in front of a block of flats that faced the road, and she was told by people who lived there that at exactly 5pm a rainbow spread across the sky.
"I just think that was her way of telling us that she was still with us in some way," she sobbed.
Gracie worked as a barmaid before becoming a mum, Sandra said her humour and friendly nature made her "the perfect barmaid".
"When you go in the boozer you want someone bubbly and having a crack, she was just so funny.
We've been so overwhelmed by the love that’s come our way, not one person has had a bad word to say about our Gracie.
Sandra
A page has been set up by one of Gracie's childhood friends to help support the family during the funeral arrangements.
"We've been so overwhelmed by the love that’s come our way, not one person has had a bad word to say about our Gracie."
"She was so loving, so caring. I’m really, really grateful she was mine. I want her back."
Hertfordshire Police are still urging people to come forward with information or dashcam footage of the crash. No arrests have been made currently.
Sergeant Tom Daly, from the Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire and Hertfordshire Road Policing Unit, said: “Our thoughts are very much with the family of the young woman who sadly lost her life, and we are conducting extensive enquiries to determine the circumstances of the collision.
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“We are keen to hear from anyone who witnessed the collision and has not yet spoken with police.
"Equally, if you have a working dash cam fitted to your vehicle and you were travelling along St Albans Road at the time of the incident, we would like to hear from you.
