Dad, aged 41, died while taking his nine-year-old son to his first rugby game after his car was involved in a collision
A dad-of-two died while taking his son to his first rugby game when his car was involved in a collision with another vehicle.
Rhys Jenkins, who was himself a rugby referee, died as he drove nine-year-old Ioan from their home in in Meifod, Powys, to watch Wales play Australia in Cardiff.
41-year-old Rhys, who was also dad to Gruff, now aged seven, died at the scene, while his son was taken to hospital to be treated for serious injuries.
At the time of the incident, in November last year, his family paid tribute to him. They said: “Rhys was a devoted husband, father and family man and his loss is absolutely devastating for us all. We are thankful for the support we have received since this truly awful incident and continue to be comforted by the well wishes. As a family we would be grateful to now be afforded the time to grieve.”
Now, a year later, ten-year-old Ioan is now "doing well", according to his mum and Rhys’ widow Carrie Jenkins, 42. To remember Rhys, Carrie took Ioan and Gruff to watch Wales play Japan yesterday (Saturday November 15), which was a day before the one year anniversary of Rhys’ fatal accident.
Carrie told the BBC she wanted to "complete the journey" that her husband had started and take her sons to their first game. She added that she was determined to "make it a really positive trip, a sort of celebration in his memory".
The plan initially was for "a few friends and family" to join Carrie and her sons, but the plan quickly grew and in the end around 100 people travelled to Cardiff for the game. "Rhys would've been overwhelmed by the support," Carrie said.
"The fact I can get the boys to the game and be there with all our family and friends feels really uplifting, rather than perhaps it being a completely sad and upsetting time. I wanted to role model for my kids that life goes on and we have a duty to Rhys to make the most of our life."
The family are still involved in rugby. Both Ioan and Gruff play rugby for their local club, Cobra, and Carrie has started coaching to help the minis and junior teams. In the year since Rhys’ death, Carrie said this has helped her feel more connected to her husband.
"Some people ask 'is it really difficult for you to go to the rugby club?' But actually feeling a part of that almost feels like living out his legacy and I want the kids to feel close to him,” she said. “They've got a picture of him on the wall and one of his referee shirts framed."
The mum-of-two went on to say that despite "really hard" times, such as Christmas and Father's Day, "I haven't been lonely because I've had people there by my side".
She continued to say that it is still hard to "navigate the future". "We've survived and I know that the future will be no different but as we go past milestones it's that sense of feeling like you're doing it as a single parent that's the hard bit."
She wants to make a rugby trip an annual event and "go and see whatever Wales game falls on this weekend and make it a positive tradition for us".
Mr Jenkins was killed on the A483 near Welshpool after his car was involved in a collision with a BMW X3 driven by Abubakr Ben Yusaf. Abubakr and his brother Umar have both denied causing death and serious injury by dangerous driving, while Abubakr also denies causing death while driving uninsured. They will go on trial on June 1 next year.