Sister of Sarah Sands - woman killed in Doncaster crash - appeals for support for 'devastated' family

Mum-of-two Sarah Sands, aged 33, died on Barnsley Road in Doncaster in the early hours of Saturday morning when she was in collision with a van.

Her sister Katy has said that the shock of Sarah’s death has left the family in ‘turmoil’, as they struggle to cope with the loss of the beloved mum, daughter, auntie and sister.

Katy said that the family has been left devastated by a string of tragic events, as Sarah’s death comes six years after the death of her older brother John.

“The death of John still feels really fresh, and the shock of losing Sarah just feels like more sadness piled on top of that,” she said.

“The family are not doing well. We feel like we are in limbo as we have not been allowed to go and see Sarah yet.

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“It’s just awful. We went to lay flowers the other day and that was so hard. It was really difficult to see the road where it happened.”

Katy said that the death of her sister has left her feeling ‘helpless’, and that she launched the fundraiser because she will ‘do anything’ to try and help her family.

“Sarah was such a loving person,” she added. “She adored her children and she was the soul of the party.

“She was kind and bright and bubbly – she smiled and she cried just like everybody else.

“Around 10 years ago she was struggling and she had an accident where she lost a leg. But she had her life on track and it is so sad that this has happened after she went through all that.

“Right before she died she was happy. She had spent the evening with mum and dad.”

Launching the fundraiser, Katy said: “I am writing this with a very massive dark hole in my heart.

“We all know by now the very sad and devastating news of our beautiful Sarah tragically losing her life in the early hours of Saturday morning by the most awful accident.

“I can't even get my head around this nor can anybody else. We are all so very numb at this sad time.

“I'm asking for help from anyone that knew Sarah and knows our family and knows what my parents have been through.

“Any help at all would be so very much appreciated towards any funeral costs for my dear sister. She was loved so much by many and she had such a loving heart.

“I'm asking for your help with the most upright respect to you all. Any little thing is one massive help.

“This is so hard having to write this. My family and parents have been through so very much – no parents should have to deal with this, we are broken.

“I just want to say thank you for all your support already and all the love and care you all have shown every single one of us.”

Police are appealing for witnesses to the collision where Sarah died, which took place at around 3.30am last Saturday near to Ridgewood School.

The road was closed in both directions for several hours as forensic teams carried out investigations at the scene.

A South Yorkshire Police spokesperson said: “Emergency services were called at around 3.22am following reports of a road traffic collision on Barnsley Road, Scawsby.

“On arrival, officers discovered a pedestrian had been in collision with a van.

“The pedestrian, a 33 year-old woman, was sadly pronounced dead at the scene.”

Officers are appealing for anyone who may have witnessed the incident to contact them.

If you can help, please call 101, or use our online reporting portal, quoting incident number 133 of 13 November 2021.