The mother’s last-minute decision meant that the daughter survived the family tragedy

An 11-year-old girl miraculously survived a catastrophic accident that claimed the lives of her entire family thanks to her mother’s last-minute decision.

Poppie Roller has been orphaned after a devastating road accident described by police as a “truly horrific collision” on a country road between Barnsley and Wakefield in West Yorkshire last Sunday. Her mother Shannen Morgan, 30, father Shane Roller, 33, and her two younger sisters Lillie, four, and Rubie, nine, have all died at the scene on the A61.

The family had been out for a leisurely stroll on Sunday before their vehicle was involved in a fatal crash with a motorbike driven by a man and a woman who lost their lives that afternoon. Poppie’s life was spared thanks to the kindness of a family friend, Paul Hepple, who is now raising funds to support her future, The Mirror reports.

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Paul, 37, has launched a fundraising campaign for Poppie, who was at his home in Barnsley with a school friend when the tragic accident claimed his family. He recounted how he ended up looking after Poppie that day after getting a call from Shannen, who asked if he could look after her daughter while they went out.

He explained: “Her mum actually contacted us and asked if we could watch Poppie as she didn’t want to go on the walk they did. So I watched Poppie as she is the best partner with our daughter. He was with our daughter. having fun and on the way home, then the accident happened”.

During a family Sunday dinner, Poppie’s aunt received a phone call that caused her to leave abruptly. Paul, a software developer and close family friend, said: “We were having Sunday dinner as a family and Poppie’s aunt was with us and obviously Poppie was too. And then he got a phone call and ended up leaving very quickly. to go and see what happened”.

He added that at the time, “nobody knew what happened at the time,” and they only found out about the incident through a Facebook post.

Paul expressed his grief at learning that Poppie would now be without her family, but pledged his support for her. He has since set up a GoFundMe donation page which has raised more than £116,000 in just seven hours.

The fundraising page describes Poppie as “bright and resilient”, saying she “lost her whole world in an instant”, but shows “incredible strength every day” despite her tragic loss. Funds raised will be used for her education, living expenses, counseling and emotional support to help her “deal with the pain”.

Reflecting on the situation, Paul said: “It’s awful, obviously – just the way it happened more than anything and the way she was left alone. He has very little family left and he’s just not as nice. Nobody is. ready for it. Nobody is prepared for something like this to happen.”

“My view is that we will take care of Poppie if we have to, it won’t come down to that, but I have told the whole family that our door is open to them and to her. She can come whenever she wants and we’ll do whatever she wants and we’ll do everything we can to help her.”

Police described the incident as a “tragic accident” in a statement today, confirming the deaths of both the motorcyclists and the family at the scene.

CCTV captured the aftermath, showing the charred remains of the family’s Ford Focus deep in the hedge of the rural street. Those wishing to support Poppie can contribute to the Paul Hepples fundraising effort on GoFundMe here.

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