Tributes have been paid to 20-year-old Owen Bartlett and 20-year-old Taylor Antwiss who died in a fatal road traffic collision at Whippingham last Tuesday.
Emergency services were called to Whippingham Road – the main road in and out of East Cowes – at just before 13:10 on Tuesday afternoon following reports of a serious collision near the junction with Alverstone Road.
Sadly, despite the efforts of everyone involved, the occupants of a Honda Civic – now known to be Owen from Seaview Road, Cowes and Taylor from Old Road, East Cowes – were pronounced dead at the scene. The driver of a Toyota van, a man in his 40s from Newport, escaped with minor injuries.
The road remained closed for around 7 hours as specialist teams from the mainland-based Collision Investigation Unit investigated the circumstances of the devastating crash.
Paying tribute to Taylor, his family have said:
“Our son and brother Taylor was the best, he was loving, caring and kind. We are so lucky to have had him for 20 years. He has left a hole in our lives that can never be filled. Our hearts go out to Owen’s family, who must be as heartbroken as we are.”
Owen’s family have also today paid tribute. They’ve said:
“Owen was the most amazing, kind, gentle, funny boy. We are lucky to have had him in our lives, and we will miss him every day for the rest of ours.”
It’s understood that the modified Honda Civic EJ9 belonging to Owen Bartlett was travelling towards East Cowes at the time of the collision, with the driver losing control and crashing side-on into the oncoming van.
Hampshire Constabulary continue to investigate the circumstances of the collision and remain keen to hear from any witnesses.
Did you witness the collision, or the moments beforehand? Do you have dashcam footage of the incident? Anyone with information is asked to contact Poliece on 101 quoting Operation Hostel. Alternatively, you can submit information via https://www.hampshire.police.uk/tua/tell-us-about/cor/tell-us-about-existing-case-report/.
Far too young to have your lives taken away so quickly. RIP thoughts and hugs to the families X
Also to all our emergency services that have had to deal with the aftermath of this awful accident. Hugs X