Sobs echoed through St Albans Crown Court as Wayne Hawes paid a heartfelt tribute to his “irreplaceable” wife, Zoe Hawes. The devastating incident occurred when Barancan Nurcin, a violent criminal, crashed a stolen van into the couple’s car while driving the wrong way on the M25 to evade the police. The Canvey couple was on their way to Luton airport for a four-day holiday to celebrate Mrs. Hawes’ 40th birthday.
Wayne Hawes spent weeks in an induced coma, battling life-threatening injuries. When he finally regained some semblance of consciousness, one of his first actions was to inquire about his wife by writing a “Z” on a pad, unable to speak due to his injuries. The moment he learned of her passing was described as “harrowing” by family members who had to break the tragic news to him repeatedly due to his drug-induced short-term memory loss.
Mr. Hawes’ sister recounted the agonizing moment her brother wrote the “Z” on the pad, and she had to convey the devastating truth. “All I could do was shake my head,” she wrote, describing how tears rolled down her brother’s face. “I knew I had broken his heart.”
The court heard a series of victim impact statements so moving that even the prosecutor, Mark Fenhalls KC, broke down in tears while reading them. Among these statements was a poignant testimony from Morgan Hawes, the daughter of Mr. Hawes and step-daughter of Mrs. Hawes. She described the repetitive trauma of informing her father of his wife’s death, each time feeling like the first for him due to his memory loss.
Morgan Hawes also depicted her father’s current state, a “shadow of his former self,” overwhelmed by the loss of his wife. The couple, who met in 2012, had a blended family of eight children and ran a flooring business together, with Wayne as the technician and Zoe handling the bookkeeping.
In her statement, Morgan recalled the crushing moment she was told, “Mum is dead and your dad is in a coma,” describing it as a “sick joke.” On Mrs. Hawes’ 40th birthday, just two days after the accident, the family tried to make the day special for the children left behind, despite their immense grief.
A video of Mr. Hawes in his hospital room was played in court, showing him breaking down at the mention of his wife. “She was irreplaceable,” he managed to say through his tears. He recounted his injuries, including damage to his neck, hip, spine, and legs, a bleed on the brain, and the loss of sight in one eye. Despite his physical limitations, including needing a children’s sippy cup to drink, Mr. Hawes expressed a desire to return to work at the flooring shop he ran with his wife.
Wayne Hawes’ mother described him as “the most hard-working man you could wish for,” always ready to help others despite his busy schedule. She lamented the end of the couple’s dream life together, destroyed by Nurcin’s reckless actions. “Your actions have destroyed the most wonderful family,” she wrote.
As the court proceedings continued, the impact of the tragic loss of Zoe Hawes was deeply felt by all present, highlighting the devastating consequences of Nurcin’s criminal actions.
