Appeal to help tragic family of six children from Outwell who lost their dad in a car crash on Thursday

Family and friends of a father killed in a car crash last week have launched a Justgiving appeal to help his fiancée and six young children.

Benji Johnson, 32, died instantly when the car he was a passenger in was involved in a collision with a tractor on Thursday morning (10), just a short distance from the home he shared with his fiancée Ashleigh Tooley and their six children in Outwell.

Now friends of the devoted father and partner want to raise money to help Ashleigh and the children relocate from their Outwell home to be nearer her family in Watlington.

The Justgiving page was launched yesterday (Sunday) by Ashleigh's Godmother Karen Murdoch with a target of £2,000 and within hours the total had hit over £1,000.

Karen said: "Benji was a wonderful father, being a dad was everything to him. He was a very private person but he would want this for Ashleigh and the children.

"They were due to get married next year, but instead of planning her wedding Ashleigh, who is only 24, is now planning Benji's funeral. They have been together for over four years. He was a single dad to Lexii, eight, and Kenzie, seven, while she was a single mum to Kalvin, six, Henley, five, and three-year-old Niamh. Together they had Danielle. It was her second birthday on Thursday, the day her dad died. All the children called him dad, and her mum.

"Ashleigh is being fantastically brave and strong for the children, but she is going to need a lot of support in the future. She has no family in Outwell to help, so we would like to help her move nearer to her mum, Sam, who works at High Haven Care Home in Downham Market and lives in Watlington.

"Ashleigh has no savings to help her afford to move, so she will need money for a deposit and rent in advance. We want to raise enough money so she doesn't have to worry paying the bills where she is at the moment or about clothes for the children for the next few months.

"We have set the target at £2,000 because we didn't want to seem greedy, but obviously she is going to need much more than that, so it would be great if we could raise as much as possible for her. She hasn't got the money for Benji's funeral, and she is worried sick about what's going to happen, and we are worried sick for her.

"The younger children don't understand what has happened and keep asking where their dad is, but Lexii understands and she is sobbing all the time, her grief is heartbreaking to see.

"Benji had gone on the school run with another mum, and they were on their way home when the accident happened. Ashleigh was waiting at home to open Danielle's presents when she got a phone call from someone to tell her about the accident. She just left the house and ran up the street, it happened close to where they live - he was almost home.

"Thankfully the mum, who was driving, and her little girl were OK, but Benji died instantly, which is a comfort to Ashleigh as she knows he didn't suffer.

"What has happened is a nightmare, and the family are still trying to come to terms with it. Sam is my best friend and Ashleigh is my Goddaughter and I just wanted to do something practical, which is why I set up the Justgiving page. If we can get enough money to relocate Ashleigh and the children either to Watlington, or Downham Market then that will be a comfort, as we can all help her."

To donate visit: https://www.justgiving.com/crowdfunding/karen-murdoch

Police issued an appeal for witnesses following Thursday's crash which happened on Wisbech Road, Outwell at 9.10am and involved a Vauxhall Astra driven by a woman in her 30s and a tractor driven by a man in his 50s. He was arrested on suspicion of causing death by careless driving.

A police spokesman said: "Officers would like to hear from anyone who may have witnessed the collision, the manner of driving of the vehicles prior to the incident or from anyone who may have captured the incident on dash-cam. Contact Andrew Hughes in the Serious Collision Investigation Team by email at Andrew.Hughes@norfolk.pnn.police.uk or via 101 quoting incident number 109 of 10 October 2019."