London - A toddler spent an entire night in a parked car cuddling the body of his pregnant mother after she suddenly died at the wheel, it emerged today.
Primary school teacher Alina Roberts, 33, collapsed after parking her car in a side street halfway home from a trip to a petting farm with her two-year-old son Benjamin.
They had spent the afternoon at the attraction a few miles from their home, and Mrs Roberts had sent her husband Alex a message to say she would be back at 3:30pm.
When she didn’t turn up, Mr Roberts, a database manager, frantically drove up and down the route that his wife would have taken to get to the farm, but was unable to find her.
He called the police and they led an overnight search. Officers eventually found the car parked in a residential street in Long Eaton, Derbyshire, at around 2pm the following afternoon.
During his 22-hour ordeal, Benjamin had wriggled free from his seat and cuddled up to his mother’s body. He told his father that he was ‘cold and hungry’ after his ‘scary’ night in the car.
It is believed that Mrs Roberts, who was 22 weeks pregnant, fell ill when she was just three miles from her home. Mr Roberts, 36, said he was originally meant to accompany his wife to Lanes Farm, near Derby, but changed his mind at the last minute to sort things out at home.
The devastated father, who in one day lost both his wife and his unborn child, said: ‘We had a kiss and a cuddle when they left. After an hour, I sent her a text message asking if they were having fun. It was about 3.30pm when she replied to say she was coming back in ten minutes.
‘After a while, I tried phoning her but it went straight to answer phone. Eventually, I went out in the car and drove the route I thought she would have taken but I couldn’t find her.’
Paying tribute to his wife of nine months, who he described as a ‘fantastic mum’, he said: ‘She was a kind, loving and caring person and a very loyal friend. Family was very important to her and motherhood came naturally.
‘She had a very special relationship with Benjamin, which I will always remind him of. It’s devastating to know she won’t be able to see Benjamin growing up and what should have been our bigger family. I will miss sharing those experiences with her.’
Hundreds have visited a website set up in her memory to offer condolences to the young family and give donations for a trust fund set up in Benjamin’s name.Friends described Mrs Roberts as a ‘ray of sunshine’ who was ‘always positive’. And Lorraine Tonks, principal of Chetwynd Primary Academy, where Mrs Roberts worked as a teacher, said: ‘Alina was one of the hardest-working and kindest teachers I’ve worked with. She had an infectious laugh and was loved by staff, children and parents.’
Mrs Roberts’ heartbroken mother Hazel Myszka, 58, yesterday paid tribute to her daughter, saying: ‘She was a wonderful mum and loved Ben so much.’
A coroner’s investigation into the death has begun but police have ruled out any suspicious circumstances. A spokesman for Derbyshire Police said: ‘All we can say is there is no evidence of any third-party involvement.’
Daily Mail