The family of a “smiley and bubbly” baby girl who died after her pram was hit by a car in a multi-storey car park have spoken of their devastation. Sophia Kelemen died from severe brain injuries after being airlifted to a Cardiff hospital following an incident at as car park in Tenby, Pembrokeshire, on Thursday, January 2.
The six-month-old had been on holiday with her father Alex, 27, and mother Betty, 26, and they were preparing to return home to Greater Manchester when tragedy struck.
Mr Kelemen told the BBC: “Just before we got to the car, the horror movie started. It’s hard to know and to think about what happened. “It’s been horrific to see our little daughter being in that bed and go through all those procedures. Everybody loved her, all of our friends. She’s always going to live in my heart. I know she’s gonna be watching me every day.”
They have also been trying to explain to their five-year-old son, Lucas, what has happened to his sister. Get the latest Welsh news headlines delivered free to your email inbox
“He’s been asking about his little sister every day since it happened,” the grieving father said. “The biggest pain I’ve had was explaining to him that God loved his sister more than we did and God gave Sophia a brand new set of wings so that she could fly over him and protect him. There are things I don’t know how to explain him. He’s our only son now and he’s the most important for us.”
Sophia’s auntie Adriana Kelemen has spoken to the Manchester Evening News, recounting the harrowing circumstances: “They were on a getaway in Wales with family friends. It was their last day and they had been out and then went to the supermarket,” she said. “It happened in the car park. The pram that she [Sophia] was in was left in the worst condition.
In response, fundraising efforts have been launched to support Sophia’s family and to help with repatriation costs, reports the Manchester Evening News. To support the family, two GoFundMe pages—one in English and one in Romanian—have been established to assist with the costs of Sophia’s funeral and her repatriation flight for burial in Romania. Donations can be made here.
Flaviu Naghi, 33, from Wigan, is due to appear at Swansea Crown Court on 7 February charged with causing death by dangerous driving and driving without a licence or insurance.