The siblings were returning from a birthday party with their parents when their car was involved in a crash.
14 February 2022
A “wonderful” three-year-old boy who died in hospital almost a week after a crash on the M4 near Newport has been named as Jayden-Lee Lucas.
The youngster, from Tredegar, had been returning from a birthday party at around 1.45pm on Saturday February 5 when the car he and his family were travelling in collided with a van.
Jayden and his older sister, four-year-old Gracie-Ann Wheaton, were rushed to the intensive care unit (ICU) of University Hospital of Wales, also known as the Heath Hospital, in Cardiff.
The children’s parents, a man and a woman, were also taken to hospital. Their mother continues to receive treatment.
Gracie-Ann suffered a cardiac arrest due to the severity of her injuries and died the following day at around 5am.
Jayden died the following Friday at 4.30pm, his family confirmed.
Cousin Jamie Lucas, 19, from Abergavenny, told the PA news agency: “Unfortunately, after a week of fighting, Jayden has passed away.
“He was wonderful, creative and a kind soul. Turned the grey skies blue.”
In a previous tribute to Gracie-Ann, he said: “I’m just trying to wrap my head around the fact that she’s gone; it’s hard to believe.
“She was so young. She had a bright future ahead of her. She was such a wonderful child.
“I’m just lost for words really. How she was returning from a birthday party and all of a sudden she’s gone.”
He added: “She was very smart, she was very creative. She had a really great imagination as well. She was just fantastic to be around.”
A GoFundMe page set up to raise money for the siblings’ funeral has raised more than £11,500.
The crash happened on the westbound carriageway between junctions 28 and 29, prompting a huge emergency services response and causing the route to be closed for around seven hours.
The Ford Transit driver, 41-year-old Martin Newman, of Croeserw, appeared at Newport Magistrates’ Court on Monday charged with causing death by dangerous driving and two offences of causing serious injury by dangerous driving in relation to the accident.
He has been remanded into custody pending a hearing at Newport Crown Court on February 21.
Anyone with dashcam footage of the collision, or any information that could help the investigation, is asked to call Gwent Police on 101 and quote 2200041245.
