Kelsie Stevens: Family pays tribute to 19-year-old who died in Billericay crash as fundraiser launched

The family of a woman who died in a crash in Crays Hill in Essex last month have paid tribute to a “loved daughter, sister and granddaughter.” Kelsie Stevens, 19, died at the scene of a single-vehicle collision in the area of Oak Road in Billericay, in the early hours of Saturday, May 25.

Officers, together with ambulance and fire service teams, responded to a call at 12.35am and discovered a black Mercedes CLK in a ditch after veering off the road. Following the incident, four men, aged 74, 54, 18 and 16, all from Billericay, and one woman, aged 20, from Rayleigh, were arrested and remain on bail with conditions while our investigation continues.

In a joint statement, Kelsie’s family said: “Kelsie was a dearly loved daughter, sister and granddaughter and friend to everyone that knew her. Kelsie worked as a lash technician. She enjoyed dancing, horse riding, cooking, baking listening to music and spending her time with her Dachshund.

“We have not made any arrangements at this stage regarding Kelsie’s funeral. All of us will greatly miss Kelsie very much. We request to be left alone and allowed to grieve at this very difficult time.”

Her workplace, Amy's Salon, has also launched a fundraising page to assist her family with funeral costs and other initiatives to honour her memory. Owner Amy Hews wrote: “Hi Everyone, as you know our beautiful girl Kelsie lost her life in a tragic car accident at just 19 years old. Kelsie was the life and soul everywhere she went, kept us all entertained with her stories did our Krazie Kels! She really will be missed by so many people.

“We've had lots of people asking us if we could take donations off of them to support her family during this difficult time. Maybe to support against funeral costs or even a bench somewhere where we can all go and have a can of her favorite.

“The amount of people that have messaged is incredible and her family are overwhelmed and so thankful for the messages of sympathy and floral contributions. We have set this page up because it just isn't right for us to take people's offerings of donations in any other way. To everyone that's offered to donate, Thank you, Thank you from the bottom of our hearts. To have to even think about planning a funeral of someone, so young is just horrific. Any contribution is so so appreciated.”

Detective Sergeant Steve Holmes said: “Our work has been continuing throughout the weekend to piece together the circumstances which led up to this horrific incident. This collision has cost a young woman her life and we will work tirelessly to establish what happened to cause her death.

“We need people who may have been on the road, in the area of Basildon and Billericay, in the hours before this collision on the evening of Saturday 25 May, to think back to what they may have seen. In particular if you saw a car matching this description, a black Mercedes CLK, we want to hear from you.

“It may be your attention was drawn to the manner of driving, or perhaps you have dash cam footage which could be reviewed after you drove in an area near to where the collision took place. We believe there were likely four occupants of the vehicle that night – two men and two women.”

Ms Stevens’s death comes exactly a month after another fatal collision that took place on the same stretch of road. Ellie-Mae-Hill, also was one of four people in a car which was involved at the junction of Pipps Hill Road and Oak Road on April 25. The single-vehicle crash occurred at around 12.40pm. All four of the people in the car were taken to hospital, but Ms Hill later died due to her injuries.

Anyone with information, CCTV, dash cam or other footage in relation to Ms Stevens’s incident, call Essex Police on 101 or submit a report online or by using their Live Chat service. If you would like to make an anonymous report you can contact the independent charity Crimestoppers, by visiting their website or by calling 0800 555 111.