THE wife of a Polish taxi driver who drove into the car of an Irish family holidaying in the UK, killing three of them, has said that she blames herself for the tragedy.

The heartbroken Cork-based family said they are still trying to come to terms with the car crash in Devon, England, on July 6, 2012.

An inquest yesterday heard of father-of-two Marek Wojciechowski's final movements before he smashed into the car of the Twomey family.

Wojciechowski wrote a four-page suicide note just minutes before the head-on collision.

His wife, Agnieszka Wojciechowski, said she blamed herself as her husband couldn't cope with their separation, following repeated arguments and mounting financial problems.

Last May, Con Twomey (39) died 10 months after suffering horrific injuries when his family's Volkswagen Golf was hit by Mr Wojciechowski (26) outside Torquay.

Con, a talented hurler for Meelin GAA club in Co Cork, died after failing to recover from head, neck and chest injuries sustained in the crash while on holiday with his wife, Elber (37), child and unborn baby.

The family had chosen a driving holiday in the UK, thinking it would be safer for Elber – who was pregnant at the time – than flying to a sun destination.

Elber is now the only survivor of the horrific collision.

The couple's child, Oisin (16 months), died shortly after the collision.

Elber's unborn child, Elber Marie, could not be saved despite emergency surgery in Derriford Hospital outside Plymouth. She was due to have been born last December.

Elber, a highly respected teacher in north Cork, suffered severe back and pelvic injuries in the crash and it was several weeks before she could be told of the enormous tragedy.

Her injuries were so severe she has been unable to return to work as a teacher in a Newmarket school.

Relatives said the family remain "absolutely heartbroken" over the tragedy.

A Devon inquest yesterday heard that Mr Wojciechowski had left a four-page suicide note.

In an interview with Devon police after the collision, his distraught wife said she felt responsible. Mrs Wojciechowski told police her husband was not handling his problems.
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Taxi drivers: Texters, lycra wearers and potholes should all be given warning signs

POTHOLES, cyclists and mobile phone texters are such a hazard to other road users their presence should be marked with warning signs, cabbies said yesterday.

They have even drawn up a wish-list of some of the new signs they would like to see.

Some are tongue-in-cheek, like the suggested warning: “Rickshaws clogging road.”

But few motorists would argue with the top choice, liked by 58 per cent of the 500 London black cab drivers quizzed. It shows a car crashing bonnet-first into a massive pothole with the message “Craters Ahead”

t highlights a real problem. Latest figures show Britain’s backlog of road repairs will take 12 years to clear.

Other popular signs include the “School run congestion zone” warning, a “Caution, Texters” alert and a picture of a manic dancer above the message: “Headphone user may be lost in music”.

The cabbies also liked the “Middle-aged men in Lycra zone” sign to warn of cyclists ahead. The list was created for Hailo, a smart phone app that helps customers call a taxi.

Cabbies also want out-dated road signs, such as for horse-drawn vehicles, dropped.

Hailo’s Russell Hall, said: “The new road signs address modern life. Potholes are a common gripe for all drivers.”

The Department for Transport said: “It is vital that signs give information road users need. They are reviewed to ensure they’re fit for purpose.”
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Middlesboro, Grooming gang.

Taxi driver, 32, 'had sex with 14-year-old passenger in layby and told her mother he thought she was 16'

Shakil Munir is one of four accused of sexually exploiting teenagers

Prosecution alleges he met girl after sending explicit messages on Facebook

But he told a court nothing happened between them in his car

The driver, then aged 31, believed she was 16, he told the court

A taxi driver had underage sex with a 14-year-old schoolgirl in a layby and later told her mother he believed she was 16, a court heard today. 

Shakil Munir, of Middlesbrough, is one of four defendants accused of sexually exploiting a number of teenagers from the town.

The prosecution alleged the Bradford-born 32-year-old picked up a 14-year-old girl and had sex with her in the early hours in a parking spot on the A19 after they sent each other explicit messages on Facebook.  

But he told a court nothing happened between them in his car and he insisted he thought she was 16.

Late on one night in January, she asked Munir to pick her up and take her to the garage to buy cigarettes, but it was alleged he stopped in a lay-by where, the prosecution said, he got her to give him oral sex, then full intercourse.

Munir told the jury of ten women and two men at Teesside Crown Court he thought the sexual messages between them on Facebook were 'banter'.

The driver, then aged 31, believed she was 16, he told the court.

Asked by his barrister Ekwall Tiwana why he got involved in the conversation, Munir who is twice-married said: 'To be honest with you, I was going through a bad patch and I was bored and I just started chatting.'

He had recently picked up the girl and two of her friends and given them a free lift, the jury heard. He denied they had sex in his car when they stopped in a lay-by.

He explained that she had wanted to talk and told him about her family life and her problems. Munir parked up and they talked, he said, but he denied having sex with the girl.

That night, with the girl still in his car, Munir received a text from her mother, telling him to bring her home immediately or she would call the police.

It was only when the mother said her daughter was 14 that he realised her age, he said. 'I thought she was 16,' he told the jury.

In a later meeting with the mother, he told her: 'Your daughter told me she was 16.'

Munir said he had an arranged marriage when he was 17, which lasted 'two to three years' and that he remarried in 2004 in Pakistan.

He denies child abduction and five counts of having sex with a child.

His co-accused, two 18-year-olds and a 17-year-old, also deny all the charges against them.

At the close of the prosecution case, the jury was told police had received reports that attempts had been made to stop girls from giving evidence.

Christopher Knox, prosecuting, asked Detective Inspector Dino Carlucci, who is in charge of the investigation: 'There were in the course of the investigation reports reaching the police that there were pressures upon girls at or about school, discouraging them from reporting events to the police or agreeing to give evidence.'

Mr Carlucci replied: 'That is a fair summary.'

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Nottingham

Lenton sex attack: £2,000 reward after assault in taxi

POLICE are offering a £2,000 reward to find a sex attacker who struck in a dark green London-style Hackney taxi.

The cash is available to anyone who can provide information leading to the arrest and conviction of the driver.

Detectives in Nottinghamshire are urging anyone with information to come forward, particularly taxi drivers who may know his identity.

The offender forced a 19-year-old woman to carry out a sex act in the car after giving her a lift home on Monday, February 11, this year.

She was taken to the junction of Trinity Avenue with Albert Road, just off Lenton Boulevard, where the taxi driver stopped the vehicle, went to the back of the taxi and got her to perform the sex act.

The victim was found in a distressed state by a member of the public after she escaped from his clutches after midnight.

More than 85 drivers have already been ruled out of inquiries.

The man is described Asian, around 40-years-old, 5ft 6 inches tall with a big stomach. He was bald with closely shaved or cropped hair all over and was wearing a dark jacket or hooded top that had a silver zip.

Detective Constable Jon Kerry said: “The attack that night has left this young woman badly shaken and frightened.

“We want to bring this man to justice and we need the help of the taxi-driving community to do that. Do you recognise the description? Do you know who could was involved?

“We aren’t aware of any subsequent attacks but we need to make sure people getting into taxis are safe and this won’t happen again.

”We would ask anyone who knows who this man is to contact us. We have ways of easily eliminating people from our inquiry if you do have concerns about it being someone you know."

Independent crime-fighting charity Crimestoppers is offering a reward of up to £2,000 for information which leads to the arrest and conviction of the person responsible.