Friends and family remember ‘great dad’ Colin Fisk, from Kesgrave, who died in A140 crash

Colin Fisk, from Kesgrave, was killed when his car was in a collision with two lorries on the A140 near Mendlesham on July 25.

His seven-year-old daughter, Jacee, who was a passenger in the car, suffered serious injuries, including broken bones.

It took an hour for her to be cut free from the wreckage.

She won’t talk about the crash and still suffers nightmares about it.

On Saturday, at the Douglas Bader pub in Martlesham Heath, where Colin, 43, had been a regular for many years, friends and family shared memories of happier times together.

Darren Fisk, Colin’s younger brother, said there had been “a lot of good times in this pub”.

“The reason we are all here is not a nice one,” he added.

“But there are a lot of people who we’ve not seen in years that have turned out to make the effort.

“Some I don’t know personally, some I haven’t seen in ages, and some who were old friends of Colin’s from school.

“The amount of support we’ve had has been huge.”

Sarah-Jane Parker, Jacee’s mother, said it was good to see so many people turn out for Colin.

“This is where Colin used to spend a lot of his time with friends, so it seemed like the right place to have it,” she added.

Friends and family said Colin would be best remembered as a loving dad to Jacee.

“He lived for Jacee, she was his whole world,” said Sarah-Jane.

Darren said that when he visited his brother’s home, it was filled mainly with Jacee’s belongings.

“He was happy to have nothing just so she could have everything,” he added.

Before the accident, Colin had taken two weeks off work from Denmans Electrical Wholesalers in Martlesham Heath, where he was an assistant manager, to spend time with Jacee.

They had already visited the Suffolk Punch Trust in Hollesley that week.

On the day of the accident, they were travelling to the Dinosaur Adventure Park in Norfolk when the crash happened.

Darren, who visited the crash site, said it was a scene of devastation.

“It’s not something that you forget in a hurry,” he added.

“I would not wish it on even my worst enemy to go through something like that.

“Even the police said it was a miracle anybody survived.”

Sarah-Jane said her daughter had been trapped in the car for an hour while firefighters tried to cut her free from the wreckage.

She suffered serious injuries including broken bones and was in a wheelchair for several days.

Even now, she struggles to walk any distance without being exhausted or in pain.

Although she is recovering physically, Sarah-Jane says her daughter still finds it difficult to come to terms with what happened.

“She used to talk about her dad 24/7 but now she won’t talk about him at all,” she added.

“It was really traumatic, she’s still having a lot of nightmares.”

Jacee’s great-aunt Gillian Colchester wrote on Facebook asking people to send messages of support to the young girl.

She wrote “It would make her day to get some mail.

“Let’s keep that brave smile going.”

The post went viral and has been shared around the world.

Sara-Jane said four large bags of cards had been sent from people as far away as Australia.

“It’s heartwarming to know it has touched so many people,” she said.

The family hope more can be done to improve road safety on the A140, which has been the scene of frequent accidents.

Lorry driver Dalius Matulaitis, of Rectory Gardens, Wisbech, was charged with causing the death of Mr Fisk by dangerous driving and seriously injuring Jacee.

He made his first appearance before magistrates via video link from Martlesham police investigation centre.

No plea was entered because the accusation of death by dangerous driving can only be heard by a crown court.

Magistrates denied an application for bail.

He was remanded in custody until his next hearing which will be before Ipswich Crown Court on August 24.

Cards for Jacee’s appeal should be sent via 26 Broadfields Close, Gislingham, Eye, Suffolk, IP23 8HY.