Heartbroken mum pays tribute to son, 2, who died in four-car crash with his dad as pensioner arrested

Joshua Hoyle, 2, tragically died after a four-car collison which also killed his dad, 36
Watch more of our videos on Shots! 
and live on Freeview channel 276
Visit Shots! now

A heartbroken mum has paid tribute to her ‘loving and energetic’ two-year-old son who died after a four-car crash which also killed his dad.

Joshua Hoyle was left critically injured when the car driven by his father Andy Hoyle, 36, was involved in a collision in Frant, East Sussex on 18 August.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

Mr Hoyle was pronounced dead at the scene and his son later died from his injuries on 27 August.

Both were from Dartford in Kent.

76-year-old man has been arrested following a crash which claimed the lives of Andy and Joshua (Photo: Sussex Police)76-year-old man has been arrested following a crash which claimed the lives of Andy and Joshua (Photo: Sussex Police)
76-year-old man has been arrested following a crash which claimed the lives of Andy and Joshua (Photo: Sussex Police)

‘Absolutely devastating’

On Thursday (2 September), Joshua’s mother Trudie Hoyle issued a moving tribute to her young son.

She said: “Joshua was our loving and energetic boy and the centre of both mine and Andy’s world.

“To have lost both of them in this way is absolutely devastating.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

“As a family we will never stop loving and missing them, and would ask to be allowed to grieve privately while we come to terms with this tragedy.”

Pensioner arrested

Sussex Police confirmed that a 76-year-old man has been arrested on suspicion of causing death by dangerous driving and for failing to stop after a road accident.

The man has been released under investigation while inquiries continue.

Police investigating the four-car collision, which occurred shortly after 11am, are still appealing for any witnesses to come forward with information.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

Officers are keen to hear from anyone who may have captured the incident on dashcam footage from the area around that time.

Anyone who has any information which may help enquiries is urged to contact the police by emailing [email protected].

Alternatively you can call 101 and quote Operation Utility.

A message from the editor:

Thank you for reading. NationalWorld is a new national news brand, produced by a team of journalists, editors, video producers and designers who live and work across the UK. Find out more about who’s who in the team, and our editorial values. We want to start a community among our readers, so please follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram, and keep the conversation going. You can also sign up to our newsletters and get a curated selection of our best reads to your inbox every day.

Comment Guidelines

National World encourages reader discussion on our stories. User feedback, insights and back-and-forth exchanges add a rich layer of context to reporting. Please review our Community Guidelines before commenting.