A FAMILY has paid tribute to a “kind-hearted woman” who died in a collision on the A15.
Courtney Davies was 24 years old when she was involved in the fatal collision on the A15 at Bishop Norton.
Courtney was raised in the USA, and later moved to England with her mum, dad, and twin sisters.
She attended Queen Elizabeth’s Grammar School in Horncastle and later went on to complete a degree in Events Management at Sheffield Hallam University.
Courtney was known for her lovely singing voice and worked as an events manager at Disneyland in Florida.
Her family have now spoken out in the hope that no one else has to go through the devastating experience they did in December 2020.
Mum Ginny said: “Courtney was my eldest daughter. She was an events manager, and was involved in weddings. A lot of people have said that she lit up a room.
“She loved to sing, especially country music, and she would sing everywhere. She was kind-hearted. She had a wicked sense of humour and a giggle to go with it.”
She continued: “When it happened, it wasn’t really the classic knock on the door out of nowhere. We knew that something had happened. We were trying to get in touch with Courtney and she would always either text or call us to let us know she was okay, and that particular night we couldn’t get a hold of her.”
Ginny added: “She was doing nothing wrong. It’s a busy road. There was an LGV going the other way, that stretch is quite narrow, he felt it was a little close to an HGV coming the other way so he’d moved over slightly and started to go off the road and he then went to move back over and over-corrected so that he ended up clipping three other vehicles and then Courtney.
“Her car was taken off the road with the impact and she was the only one who didn’t walk away that night.”
Ginny added she was aware the tragedy had affected not only her entire family, but also the police officers who had to tell them that Courtney had been killed.
“Courtney doesn’t have a voice anymore, and this is the most terrible thing that can happen,” she said.
“But from the other side of it we’re also aware that for the officers that have to go in and break this news. I can’t imagine doing that job.”
Courtney’s sister Emma says she brought laughter and joy to every room she entered.
“Courtney was one of those people where every time she came in a room you knew that you were going to be laughing,” she said.
“She always was cracking jokes, she was always dancing and singing.”
Recalling the night of the fatal collision, on December 14, 2020, Emma said, “Me and my dad decided that we’d go out and go look for her because we’d heard there’d been an accident on the A15. I said to my sister, my twin, before I left as soon as she gets home ‘you call me’, as soon as that phone rings ‘you call me’.
“As me and dad were driving down the road my sister called me and I thought ‘great, she’s home, Courtney’s home’ and I picked up the phone and I could hear my mum wailing in the background so upset.
“I could hear officers talking and their radios going off and it was my sister’s boyfriend and he said ‘I’m so sorry but Courtney’s died’.
“And so I had to tell my dad in the car. We turned around, we went home and everybody was just in pieces.”
She added: “I think a lot of people think ‘oh well, if someone’s drinking or on drugs then that’s when accidents happen’, but actually they happen regardless at any time without those factors included so I think it’s important to raise that awareness so people think when they get in the car about safety.
“Their safety, other people’s safety. My sister was that light in the room and I think it’s left a hole in the family that can never be replaced.”
The driver of the lorry, Anthony Alderson, pleaded guilty to causing death by dangerous driving. He was banned from driving for three years and and was given a six month curfew lasting from 7pm to 7am.
The then-67-year-old was also ordered to pay a £95 victim surcharge and £85 costs. Lincoln Magistrates Court was told Alderson, of Warwick Place, Peterlee, County Durham, had not driven a lorry since the crash, and had since retired.
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