Barnsley businesses are coming together to raise money for family killed in crash near Wakefield | News

A shop owner in Athersley North told us how he served them just half an hour before the accident.

A Barnsley community is rallying to support the loved ones of the family of four killed in a crash near Wakefield on Sunday afternoon.

Shane Roller and Shannen Morgan died with two of their daughters, Rubie, 9, and Lillie, 4.

They were in a Ford Focus which collided with a motorbike on the A61 just before 4pm. They leave behind a third daughter who is 11 years old and was not involved in the accident.

More than a quarter of a million pounds has been donated via a GoFundMe page and now local businesses in Athersley North are coming together to help raise the money.

On the counters of several businesses are small donation buckets displaying a photo of the family, with the money raised going towards funeral costs and supporting the 11-year-old girl who lost her family.

“I went to bed thinking about it last night and woke up thinking about it”

Bobby Sangha runs the Nisa store and told us how Shane showed up about half an hour before the accident happened:

“He came in here and I laughed and joked with him, his kids were in the car.

“His last words to us were, ‘I’m going to Wakefield, I need a change’, so I offered him a change… then I heard the news and it was devastating.

“You can’t understand him. Everyone comes in now just crying.

“His wife came here all the time to shop. They were a proper family, a nice family, they would do anything for their children. To always have a smile on his face no matter how bad things were…always happy.

“She couldn’t do enough for you, sweetie,

“I went to bed thinking about it last night and woke up thinking about it. It’s all those “ifs”… if I had talked to him for another 30 seconds, would he have missed it?

“The feeling here is very gloomy, everyone is disappointed. It will affect a lot of people. This will stay with everyone for the rest of their lives. It makes you reflect on life, you don’t know what’s going to happen tomorrow.”

“It seems time is so precious”

Robert Taylor owns Muscle Unit Gym and also has a fundraising bucket on the counter:

“We are all one big community. As a father of three myself, it kind of hits home. It’s like something you’d never see, it’s a tragic accident. It seems time is so precious.

“For the girl to be left behind, to get that news… how does that affect her future?

“Everyone is coming together like they should be, I’m so glad people are getting involved. It’s a tragedy but hopefully we can get some money together and help that girl for the rest of her life.”

Athersley North Primary School paid tribute to Rubie and Lillie, saying they were both “a pleasure to teach”.

Meanwhile, West Yorkshire Police this afternoon named the man and woman on the motorbike who also died in the tragedy.