Emotional road run pays moving tribute tragic teenagers who died in crash
A memorial car run to mark the first anniversay of teenagers Billy Hines. Kyle Warren and Dom O'Neill who died in the Pulham crash.Picture: Nick Butcher - Credit: Nick Butcher
They revved their engines as a mark of respect for three teenagers who left a lasting impression but were tragically killed before they could fulfil lives of promise.
In a repeat of a similar event last year in the days after Kyle Warren, Dominic O'Neill and Billy Hines died in a devastating road crash, their friends and family once again gathered on Sunday in their cars for a memorial road run in their honour.
The trio - who died when the black Ford Ka they were travelling in came off the road at Pulham Market and hit a tree on April 5 last year - were known for their love of cars, with Kyle being a keen banger racer and Dominic harbouring ambitions to be a mechanic.
As a mark of respect following the first anniversary of their deaths, more than 300 cars gathered at Morrisons car park in Diss from 4pm to share memories of how each of the three boys had touched their lives.
Escorted by police, they then travelled in convoy along the A143 to Great Yarmouth, revving their engines and beeping their horns in tribute as they went.
Much of the organisation was done by Dominic, Billy and Kyle's young friends.
The Rev Canon Nigel Tuffnell, rector and rural dean of the Seven Churches group which includes St John the Baptist Church in Harleston, said an event like this 'does a credit to the younger people'.
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He added: 'The people around Billy, Kyle and Dom have dealt with what happened in a very mature way, but entirely in their own way.
'It has been things that have been right for them and the friends seem to have been there for one another and each of the families.
'Young people don't always get the credit they deserve, but they have really held together.'
Asked how she had coped since the crash, 18-year-old Dominic's mother Davina O'Neill said: 'I think it's just from having the support in my community.'
Helen Orford, mother of 17-year-old Kyle, said: 'He has left a massive gap in our lives. He is missed in everything we do. He was loving, caring and supportive to all his family and friends.
'I hope they always remember him.'