Friends are saying her escape from the crash was a ‘miracle.’
A young Canberra woman has given birth after a car crash, in which she was a passenger, killed her partner.
On Saturday Felicity Jessop gave birth to what is being dubbed her “miracle baby” after Friday night’s crash. Her partner, Tim Smith-Brown, who was driving the car, was killed in the fatal collision.
ACT Police say that around 5.45pm police attempted to pull over what they call a “ vehicle of interest”.
Police say the driver of the car accelerated away. Police followed for a short time until the “response was terminated.”
“The vehicle continued at high speed along Drakeford Drive and drove through a red light signal which caused a collision with two other vehicles. The collision resulted in the death of the driver of the fleeing vehicle and injuries to four others.”
The collision at Kambah, south Canberra was a scene of carnage, with one car wrapped around a light pole, another left on its roof.
One of the passengers, Felicity Jessop survived and was rushed to hospital.
She was heavily pregnant.
On Saturday she gave birth to a baby boy who she named Tim, after his father.
Her best friend posted on Facebook.
“Despite enormous distress, Felicity is recovering her strength and is out of intensive care. She is caring for her newborn son with the help of the wonderful staff at the Canberra Hospital. We welcomed baby Tim into the family yesterday, and our thoughts are with Tim’s family after this tragic accident and the death of their son.”
Another friend Samantha Hurley created a fundraising website on GoFundMe hoping to raise $5000.
‘No one in this world desevers [sic] this, I thought I would start this page as she is going to need all the help she can get as she will recive [sic] it all from family at this time but as a friend, and I know you all do aswel [sic], I would like to help her as she was a very good friend to me, and desevers [sic] a happy life for her and her boy as I’m sure Tim wanted.’
However the reaction on social media to the plea for help has been mixed, with one suggestion that the driver of the car “deserved to die” provoking an angry response from Mr Smith-Brown’s father Warren Brown.
“The person in the red Ute did die. It was my son, you are a heartless individual.
“He [was] about to become a great father. He was an amazing son and loving caring person. Everyone makes mistakes.”
Another wrote: “Someone should start a fund for the people in the other cars to help and support them through their recovery”
Others looked past the circumstances of the accident and thought instead of the baby and his mother.
“Both miracles. Thinking of you” wrote one.
Another:” We don’t know the tru [sic] story of what happened. Until we do lets think of Felicity and her bub and the others injured in the crash”
ACT Police say they are investigating the circumstances of the high-speed crash.
Felicity’s mother posted on Facebook “Despite enormous distress, Felicity is recovering her strength and is out of intensive care. She is caring for her newborn son with the help of the wonderful staff at the Canberra Hospital.”
Our thoughts are with Felicity and her new baby, Tim.
If you want to support the GoFundMe page you can here.
Top Comments
one less loser on our roads. good riddance
Unbelievable, we have every right to judge the choice Tim made to out run the police because that decision he made put everyone on the road at that time in danger and it was only shear luck that he didn't kill all involved! No one deserves to loose their life but we also don't deserve to be ploughed into at 200 kms an hour on a green light. I understand you wanting to support you friend through this horrible time but you must be high if you can't understand the public outrage at the stupid choice he made that cost him his life and untold pain to all involved that could have easily been avoided, comparing this to a whoops made a mistake, let's move on is insulting and makes me extremely angry, what was so bad in his life that killing himself was the better option then pulling over and taking what was coming to him