Children who lost both parents in fatal crash receive over £16,000 a stranger fundraised for them
More than £16,000 has been handed over to the two children who lost both parents in a fatal car crash earlier in the autumn.
Robert Bateman, 36, who everyone knew as Bob, and his wife Paula, 35, both died when their Ford Focus crashed head-on into an Iveco Daily van on the A142 between Chatteris and Mepal in September.
Their daughters Alexandra, known as Lexi, then 10, and 18-month-old Elizabeth were also in the car, and survived.
Friends, family and complete strangers contributed towards the JustGiving page set up to raise funds for the girls.
And a final total of £16,167.33 was raised after the platform’s administrative deductions, and has been officially handed over to the children.
Shane Yerrell didn’t know the family personally, but felt compelled to set up the crowdfunding page after reading about the tragedy in the national press.
Since 2011, he has raised thousands of pounds for charity and strangers in need and says he has ‘a passion for helping people’.
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Shane, from Essex, said: “My attitude is ‘you don’t have to know someone to be affected by their story’.
“Their [the Bateman’s] story affected me quite a lot.
“I felt gutted for them. Two young girls losing both of their parents in such a tragic way. Things could have and should have been so different.”
He also runs a charity called Through the Fight Foundation which supports victims of violent crime and those affected by illness.
His fundraising efforts have been acknowledged at the British Citizen Awards.
Last month, Luke Norton, 31, of Lincoln, was jailed for eight years and eight months after admitting causing the deaths of Mr and Mrs Bateman by dangerous driving at Peterborough Crown Court.
