A CRUEL twist of fate put a young Crewe mother on the road to her death.

Beverley Rogers, received fatal injuries when her car was in collision with an articulated lorry, but she would not have been driving on the A534 Wrexham Road at Faddiley, near Nantwich if the route she usually took had been open.

The crash left two of her passengers, her sister Joanna Clewes and Joanna's two-year-old son Ben, seriously injured. Joanna's other son, six-month-old Shaun escaped with minor cuts.

"My daughters had gone out shopping together and they should never have even been on that road, but had been diverted because of another accident," said their father, Michael Rogers who lives in Wyche Avenue, Nantwich.

A third accident featured in the tragic story. As Beverley was being rushed to hospital the ambulance in which she was travelling was involved in a collision with a car at the Bluestone traffic lights.

Mr Rogers is confident that this made no difference to the tragic outcome of the crash.

He and the rest of his devastated family have nothing but praise for the medical and emergency services.

"We would like to thank the police, fire brigade, ambulance personnel, medical teams and hospital staff. They have all been fantastic," he said.

Special thanks have gone to passing motorist, borough council mobile warden Pauline Kinnersley, who administered first aid and comfort, and to a fireman who travelled to hospital with Ben.

The youngster suffered two broken legs and a broken jaw and was taken to Alder Hey Children's Hospital, Liverpool. His condition is said to be improving and on Tuesday it was hoped to would be transferred to Leighton Hospital.

Twenty-seven-year old Joanna was still in intensive care at Leighton but her condition was reported to be "stable" and she had recovered consciousness.

Beverley, of Wheelman Road, Crewe, died just days after her 26th birthday. Her daughter Kirsty who was not in the car had her ninth birthday on the day after the crash.

Joanna and her family live in Tattenhall. Husband Steven has been keeping a bedside vigil, travelling between Leighton and Alder Hey.

Beverley had just started a career in hairdressing after gaining NVQ qualifications at South Cheshire College. She had joined a salon at Shavington.

Mr Rogers said the family felt for the lorry driver too. "Because he will have to live with this for the rest of his life. We hold no malice against anybody," he added.

Police have appealed for witnesses to the accident at 12.20pm on Monday last.

Converted for the new archive on 13 March 2001. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.