Wife pays tribute to man killed in river crash tragedy
THE WIFE of a man who died when two cars containing members of the same family crashed into the River Wye near Buxton yesterday has paid tribute to him.
David Cox, 42, was taking his 11-year-old daughter Tess to school just after 8.30am when his Toyota Aygo left a bridle path running near to the Monsal Trail and entered the river.
Five minutes later, his wife Ruth was taking her nine-year-old son Ioan to school when her Toyota Rav4 also left the path and crashed into the river.
Both vehicles overturned and Mrs Cox and the children managed to escape to safety. Local residents and a police officer entered the water to rescue Mr Cox and he was taken to Stepping Hill Hospital, Stockport, but later sadly died.
His wife and two children were also taken to hospital.
Paying tribute to her husband, Mrs Cox said: “David was a wonderful loving father, husband, brother and son. He loved living at Blackwell Mill and working for the BBC.
“I am very proud of our daughter Tess. She held her breath and dived under the water to look for a way out of the car. Tess then swam to the far bank.
“I am also very proud of our son Ioan. Whilst the car was filling with water he kept calm and attempted to unsuccessfully smash the rear side window. We were both able to get out of the car and onto the river bank. I am very proud of how they ran back down the lane to the cottages to raise the alarm.
“We were a very happy family and I will do my utmost to make us a happy family again.
“I would like to thank my wonderful friends and neighbours for all their help and support. I would also like to thank all the rescue services involved.”
Mr Cox worked for the BBC in Salford.
The BBC’s Acting Director General, Tim Davie said: “We are very sad to learn of David’s tragic death. He was a popular member of the Future Media team in Salford and had been key to the success of the red button service during the Olympics in the summer.
“Our thoughts are with his family, friends and colleagues here at the BBC at this difficult time.”
Roux Joubert, Head of TV and Mobile Platforms said: “David was an important member of the team and played a central role in the department. He will be sorely missed by everyone here and our thoughts are with his family at this time.”
Police, fire, ambulance and mountain rescue teams all attended the scene and an investigation into the accident is now underway.
The road condition at the time of the accident was described as “poor”.
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Weather for Buxton
Wednesday 22 May 2013
Today
Sunny spells
Temperature: 3 C to 12 C
Wind Speed: 20 mph
Wind direction: North west
Tomorrow
Light showers
Temperature: 4 C to 9 C
Wind Speed: 20 mph
Wind direction: North west
