This is the poignant moment when a South Wales car crash victim helped her mother on her wedding day as the family mourned the death of her stepsister in a car crash in 2015.
Eve Smith, 21, was found dead in the wreckage of a white VW Tiguan on the outskirts of Cardiff in the early hours of Monday morning – nearly two days after the five friends were last seen at a Newport nightclub.
Eve, Darcy Ross, 21, and Rafel Jeanne, 24, died in the accident, while Sophie Russon, 20, and Shane Loughlin, 32, survived but are in critical condition, according to police.
But MailOnline revealed yesterday that Eve’s half-sister, Xana Doyle, was murdered in 2015 by a drunk driver in a stolen car while high on cocaine and cannabis. The impact of Miss Doyle’s death, when Eve was just 13, was explored in a Sky documentary.
The show, which will air in 2020, culminated in their mother Emma marrying Newport boxing coach Tony Borg for the first time at the age of 50. Cameras followed them for three years until the couple brought their 13 children together as they prepared to walk down the aisle.
Moving footage showed teenage Eve helping Ms. Borg choose her wedding dress and get ready for her big day. At one point, Eve is filmed on the phone with her ‘Nan’, asking how she would like her make-up done and if she would like false eyelashes. And now the family has experienced another tragedy with Eve’s death confirmed yesterday.
In the documentary, Emma is shown in tears as she describes her grief over Xana’s passing. Despite finally finding happiness with her new husband, she says, “I know what it’s like to lose children. If I could sacrifice my relationship to get my daughter back.” She added, “Every moment is hard, but I have a duty to her (Xana) to keep living and living well.”
Eve Smith, who died in the Cardiff car crash that horrified Britain, was filmed for a touching TV documentary helping her mother prepare for her wedding day as the family coped with the death of her half-sister, even in a car accident
Eve in a Sky documentary that charted how families deal with trauma after Xana’s death (left). The cameras followed the family for three years
Eve Smith with mother Emma, stepfather Tony and her brother on the Sky TV program This is Our Family which followed their lives after the death of her sister Xana in a car crash in 2015
Eve’s sister Xana Doyle was killed in 2015 by a drunk and drugged driver
“I’m not an emotional person at all — I don’t cry, I don’t get upset about things. I’m so weird. But that day was shocking,” Mr. Borg said, describing when Xana died.
This is Our Family was praised for its sensitive handling of the tragedy, and was filmed around the time when the two men imprisoned for Xana’s death were about to be released.
After Xana’s death in 2015, Eve herself paid her own emotional tribute, saying she had “tragicly lost my beautiful big sister.”
Eve, just 13 at the time, wrote on Facebook, “I never thought I would have to say that or even think about it, but it’s all I do. No one will understand the pain and heartache I feel when I hear her name or see her picture.
“It’s so hard to understand or accept that she’s gone and I’ll never be able to see her again. A million times I’ve needed her and a million times I’ve cried.
“If only my love could have saved her, she would never have died.”
In the documentary, their mother Emma is filmed struggling with Xana’s death.
She says, “I try to control my emotions and not push them onto someone else; just exposing them for all to see was quite difficult. But it’s important that people know that you can go on living your life.”
Emma explained why the documentary was so important, adding: ‘Sometimes you have to see someone going through the same thing as you to be able to deal with what you’re going through. Hopefully that will help people.’
Eve Smith, 21, is one of three killed in a tragedy at a weekend party
Eve’s sister Sherridan Borg, 23, (front) paid tribute to her late sisters Eve (back) and Xana (not pictured)
Eve and Xana in a family photo taken when they were younger
After driver Sakhawat Ali was jailed for eight years, Xana’s mother Emma revealed her grief in a personal statement read in court.
She said, “It’s heartbreaking to watch her brother, Zaine, and sisters, Lauren and Eve, try to get on with life in so much pain. ‘
“They not only lost their beloved sister that day, but also their mother, because I am not and can never be the same person again.
“Honestly, if I didn’t have my other kids to take care of, I wouldn’t be here today because this pain is unbearable.
“She’s not here and she never will be. This nightmare is real and will never end.’
Emma added: ‘I can’t accept that this is real, I’m in a permanent daze trying to get on with the mundane tasks of life in an effort to provide some normalcy for my kids.
“I will never see Xana marry, have children and become successful in her chosen field.
“There will always be an empty place at our table, a hole in our hearts that cannot be filled, and there won’t be a day when we don’t mourn her.
“Every family celebration will be bittersweet knowing she’s not there to share the joy and be the life and soul of the party she was.”
Eve’s other sister Sherridan Borg, 23, has paid tribute to Eve and Xana.
She said, “Eva, my beautiful little sister, I cried, laughed, and fought every week with you, but I was never without you.
Best friends Eve Smith, 21, Darcy Ross, 21, and Sophie Russon, 20, met Rafel Jeanne, 24, and Shane Loughlin, 32, at a social club in Newport. Their car was missing for 46 hours until it was found
Mrs Smith was good friends with Darcy Ross and Sophie Russon (left and right)
Shane Loughlin, 32, and Rafel Jeanne-Actie, 24, met the women at a social club in Newport. Rafel died, Shane survived
“We used to say, ‘I always have you,’ but now I’m sitting here feeling so empty because you’re not with me anymore, and I can’t accept this.”
Eve had taken part in a Sky TV documentary after their other sister Xana Doyle was killed and the family campaigned for tougher sentences following the 2015 car crash.
Hairdresser Xana, 19, died instantly from head injuries in the crash when a friend stole a car to go to a party. She was a passenger when the car overturned
Sakhawat Ali, then 23, was high on cocaine and cannabis and twice the drunk driving limit. He was released after serving five years in prison.
Eve was 13 at the time of the tragedy, while Sherridan was 15.
Sherridan said, “There’s no sister like you, you always made me feel so important, you sent me messages to remind me how much you love me and I’d tell you how much I loved you more!”
“You saved me from so much Eve, all the times I was low it was you I would turn to, and now I feel heavy because I couldn’t save you.
“I loved watching you grow into this beautiful young woman and you were always so worried that we wouldn’t get close when you grew up, but I would remind you that sisters never break bonds and those of us there is, no bond like ours, my girl, you’ll always be my little sister.
“I know you are safe up there with our beautiful sister Xana, but I was never ready to let you go, my body aches without you, please watch over me.
‘I love you forever and always’
Their stepfather is Tony Borg, a former boxer who trained Olympic medal winning boxers and world champion Lee Selby in Wales.
