07 February 2024 , 11:47
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A 999 call-handler has recalled the harrowing moment her brother's death was called into the ambulance control room she was working in.
Abi Lloyd Roberts' 19-year-old brother, Josh, was walking home towards Caernarfon in Gwynedd, Wales, in June last year when he was hit by a vehicle and killed. The Cardiff Metropolitan University student suffered serious injuries and died at the scene before his sister's co-worker received a call about the accident, which took place on the A4085.
In S4C's investigation programme, Y Byd ar Bedwar, Josh's family spoke of the grief they have endured since and said they are still waiting for answers following his tragic death. Josh returned to his hometown of Caernarfon on June 2, 2023, after completing his first year of university. He had picked up work at a holiday park called Glan Gwna in the nearby village of Caeathro, and decided to stay on the site and after work on a Friday evening to play bingo with his friends.JH
His mum, Melanie Tookey recalled: "Eight minutes to six, he sent a message to our family group chat. Me, my daughter, her boyfriend and Josh were in the group. He said his manager was getting the pints in and that he was going to leave his car there and walk home. Really, I didn't think twice, it wasn't unusual."
But it was the last time Melanie would hear from her son. Josh began walking home along the A4085 at around 10.15pm that night - a journey he made "close to a hundred" times, according to Melanie.
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Abi said she knew 'from the moment the call came in' (Y Byd ar Bedwar / Abi Lloyd Roberts)But moments into his journey, Josh was hit by a vehicle and killed. His sister, Abi, was working for the Welsh Ambulance Service at the time when her co-worker received a call about the accident.
Speaking to journalist Siôn Jenkins on Y Byd ar Bedwar, Abi said: "So I asked: 'What’s happened?'. They said: 'He’s been hit by a car'. 'Who?' I asked. 'How old is he?' - '19,20'. And my heart sank because about two hours earlier Josh had sent a text saying: 'I’m walking home'.
"And I asked: 'What's happened?' - 'Oh, he's dead'. And I just went: 'okay'. I went straight out, I tried to phone Josh about 100 times, he didn't answer." While Abi didn't know it was Josh at the time, she said she felt that something "wasn't right".
Her colleague took her back home to Caernarfon that evening, where she was met with police officers. Recalling the moment, Abi said: "There were two police officers outside. Mam asked: 'is it Josh?' and they said: 'yes'. 'Is he dead?' - 'Yes, he’s dead'. I’ve never screamed so much in my life because I knew it was Josh. I just needed someone to confirm it was him, but I knew from the moment the call came in. I don’t know how, but I knew. I look at my phone every morning, see his photo and then I remember. It's horrible, I really miss him. He'll be 19 for ever."
Josh was killed after he had been hit by a vehicle (North Wales Police)Following the experience, Abi decided to leave her role at the ambulance service. She said: "I feel like I’m stuck in time," she said. "I’m not going to go back to work. I’ve got PTSD. I’m scared that something like this will happen again. I want to know what exactly happened to Josh and somebody knows what happened to him."
Mum Melanie told how the family were still looking for answers to try and piece together what happened to her son. When asked what impact it had on her, she said: "It’s awful. I don’t know if I'm coming or going. I'm exhausted. I don't have the strength, but I have to keep this strength to do this. But sometimes, I just want to stay in bed and hide from everything, but Josh wouldn’t want that."
She continued: "You can't believe it. He was just working, he’d gone for a few pints, a summer's evening and he just didn’t arrive home." She added: "You never think you're going to hear those words. I still can’t take in those words. I know he’s not coming back." North Wales Police said that the investigation has concluded but were unable to comment while the case was under review and before the coroner's inquest was concluded.