On the anniversary of the fatal road accident that killed Narberth primary schoolteacher Beca Mai Richards as she travelled home along the Narberth to Penblewin road, her mother has re-lived the trauma after witnessing a head-on crash just yards from where she was sitting in the centre of Rome.

Eleri James had flown to Italy on the advice of her bereavement counsellor to her first solo holiday in 15 years.

As she drank coffee at a street café on the second anniversary of the horrific road accident that took place on August 20, 2021, Eleri saw a black BMW crash into a car that was standing stationary at a 'Give Way' sign.

“When I saw what had happened, I felt someone pushing me out of the chair,” said Eleri, who was brought up in Moylelgrove and is a former pupil of Cardigan Secondary School.

“But when I turned round, there was nobody there. I knew this was Beca Mai telling me to go over to the crash and help the injured driver in any way that I could.”

When she arrived at the scene Eleri, who is a staff nurse at Glangwili General Hospital, found the driver of the car in a state of extreme shock.

“His name was Christian and he had been driving to work in his white Fiat Panda," she said.

“I explained to him that I was a nurse and I took him away to a shaded area and gave him my chair and a bottle of water. I stayed with him until his parents and brother arrived a short while later.

“When I began telling them what had happened to Beca on the very same day two years ago, the young man’s mother fell to her knees and she began thanking me, over and over again, for everything I had done to help her son. She wouldn’t stop hugging me.

“When the police arrived they asked me if I was prepared to give a witness statement and I agreed, as nobody else had witnessed the crash. And this, for me, was a brave thing to do on the anniversary of Beca’s accident.

“As many people know, I don’t give myself much praise in life, but on Sunday I was proud to be me, proud to be a nurse, proud of my parenting skills to three beautiful and talented children and proud of myself for coming to Rome on my own to witness the most breathtaking City in the world.”

Eleri went on to say that the driver’s mother thanked her repeatedly for helping her son in his hour of need.

“She kept saying that I was Christian’s angel and this has meant so much to me.

“The reason I came out to Rome was to feel close to Beca and she’s walked by my side ever since I arrived. She was an angel on earth and she continues to be an angel each and every day that she’s with me.

“I know that it’s because of her that I found the courage to go and help Christian.”

Beca suffered horrific injuries after suffering what is believed to have been a medical episode as she drove home after spending the day preparing her Year 1 classroom at Narberth school in preparation of the new term.

Her Vauxhall Corsa veered across the carriageway and hit a lorry.

Beca Mai was airlifted to the University Hospital of Wales in Cardiff however staff told her family that the impact of the crash would have left her severely brain damaged.

On August 26 Eleri, together with her sons Llion and Tegid, made the heartbreaking decision to bring Beca's treatment to an end.  She was just 23 years old.

Following Beca’s wishes, her organs have been used to save other people’s lives. Her kidneys and pancreas have saved two people who had been on the transplant list for more than 18 months and her heart has been stored to help others at a later date.

One of her kidneys has been donated to a young girl in her 20s while her other kidney and pancreas was donated to a 42-year-old mother. Her heart will also be able to help up to four other people as the valves can be used as well as the tissue.