Reagen Skinner, Hannah Ferguson remembered as Robert Crockford jailed over fatal crash
Devastated relatives of a young couple killed in a horrific crash near Dubbo have given heartbreaking accounts of the impact the youngsters’ death has had on them. A mother has also revealed why she holds “no animosity towards the truck driver” responsible.
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Devastated relatives of two young people killed in a horrific pileup near Dubbo have spoken of the enormous void the tragic deaths have created.
Charles Sturt University students Hannah Ferguson, 19 and Reagen Skinner, 21, died in January 2018 after the car they were in was crushed by a truck driven by Loganholme man Robert Crockford.
The young couple’s family members and survivors of the fatal pileup provided victim impact statements to the Dubbo District Court ahead of Crockford’s sentencing on Thursday.
Excerpts from those statements can now be shared after Crockford was handed a 9 year, 6 month jail sentence.
DEANNA FERGUSON, mother of Hannah Ferguson
“My life prior to the accident was near perfect. I had a great job teaching at the local high school, I married Ian and became a farmer’s wife and together we had three children Hannah, Sarah and Matthew. We were comfortable and happy.
I had been alerted to the accident by one of Hannah’s closest friends who she and Reagen were to have lunch with. I just knew she was gone … call it what you like but I call it a mother’s intuition.
I screamed and collapsed and cried and cried till I could cry no more. I vomited several times and rang my nearest and dearest.
I was a devout Catholic prior to the accident and since then I have questioned myself is there even a god at all. If there is a God why would he take two of the most beautiful souls the world has ever known? To me it makes no sense.
They say when you lose a parent you lose your past and when you lose a child you lose your future. This is so true. The chance to see Hannah celebrate her 21st, her wedding and having children have all been ripped from my grasp.
I strongly believe that I have survived this tragedy through the love and support of my close family unit and my incredible friends.
I hold no animosity towards the truck driver. I have maintained since the accident that he did not wake up that day and set out to kill two wonderful human beings. It wasn’t premeditated, it was simply an accident. However, I have also believed that if you do something wrong you should own it and show some remorse. For so many months we were given a myriad of reasons as to why it happened.
I was the last person to see both of them alive and that morning still haunts me and will do forever. They were both so happy, laughing and joking around. I told them both how much I loved them and told Hannah to drive safe. Hannah was really excited about her grandmother coming to see her the next day.
She was a rare special soul who was oblivious to anger or tension around her, our family called it Hannah’s world and what a lovely place to be. She spent her life being excessively busy, stating that siting around was ‘too much down time’. Maybe she knew she had to fit a lot into 19 years.”
CHRIS CHOWN, witness
“I have rarely, if ever, referenced that day as an accident. It was an incident that was avoidable.
Your reckless indifference on the road that day has changed so many lives and affected future generations to come.
What I witnessed that day is one of the heaviest days I have ever gone through.”
JULIE MARSHALL, crash survivor
“The surgical staff described my injury like an ice cream, with my upper arm being the cone and my humeral head being the ice cream. He said not only has the ice cream fallen off the cone, it has also shattered into a number of smaller pieces and a specialist from Sydney would come up to complete the operation.
Unfortunately the nursing staff were less than helpful and my family had to continually ask for pain relief and pillow to support my shoulder. They even had to shower me before surgery.
On January 18, 2018 I was finally taken down to surgery at about 8.30pm and my family were told it would take roughly four hours.
However the surgery took way longer than it should have which resulted in them having to stop and stabilise me due to cardiac issues and then recommence.
I ended up with complications after the surgery and had to return to Dubbo Base Hospital on February 27 and then to North Shore Private Hospital on March 6.
I still don’t have a full range of motion with my arm and everyday activities that I used to take for granted are real chores now.
I relied on husband to shower and dress me, along with the daily housework, as I couldn’t do much in the first few weeks. My husband managed to maintain his full-time job and take care of me but it caused him to get run down, tired and frustrated, which also caused him a lot of stress.
Prior to the accident I was very independent and there wasn’t too many things I couldn’t do myself.”
NATALIE DUNSTAN, crash survivor
“I was a passenger within one of the vehicles sitting at the roadworks, waiting to reach the township of Dubbo to attend a work meeting. With no warning, no signal, no nothing, my life changed then and there.
Whilst I was fortunate to exit the vehicle that had been thrown completely to the other side of the road, what I was confronted with will forever remain with me. Not knowing what had happened, why I was facing this confrontational disaster and sincerely concerned for those around me forever, plays over and over in my mind.
Not being able to help those innocent lives lost, gathering my thoughts enough to assist my colleague to call for help, concerned for my colleague who remained confined in the vehicle and watching in horror as people are attended to as emergency services arrive – is an image that will never be erased.”
KYLE WELLSMORE, brother of Reagen Skinner
“Reagen finished Year 12 and started university in Bathurst, doing a combined degree of nursing and paramedics, with the intention of going on to study midwifery. Reagen had a deep conviction in regards to compassion, he believed strongly that everyone deserves respect, care and love.
On January 16, 2018 I lost my brother and best friend.
The impact of losing Reagen has been immense and almost impossible to quantify. The man I was before losing Reagen is different to the man I am today.
Since the accident I have regularly been seeing a psychologist, at first weekly, now fortnightly. Some days I feel hopeless, like there isn’t a point to stick out the day. I find myself counting down the minutes until it’s a reasonable time to go to bed and try and sleep. I hadn’t felt this before Reagen was killed.
The ripples of the accident have made their way into my driving. Driving now causes a great deal of anxiety for me. Notably, there have been numerous times where I had panic attacks while waiting at road works. These panic attacks aren’t exclusive to being at roadworks. They can happen while I am in bed, going to the shops and just being by myself at home.
Looking out into the future, my life is not what I imagined it would become. I am due to be married and my best man is dead. Reagen was always going to be the best man, I still intend him to be. However it’s in a capacity I never would have imagined.
Losing Reagen has caused a monumental shift in my core. I will never be the same. Due to the accident, the offender has given me, Reagen, Hannah and the other victims a life sentence. It has caused irrevocable harm to me mentally and emotionally.
And despite this, I feel that I can forgive Mr Crockford for what he has done.”
RICHARD WELLSMORE, uncle to Reagen Skinner
“He had always been a deep thinker. When he listened to music he didn’t just listen to the melody, he undertook a deep dive into the lyrics, ballads being his favourite songs.
We could go from light hearted banter to a deep and meaningful in seconds.”
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