Woman, 21, killed in horror head-on crash with thug in stolen van driving wrong way while being chased by cops
A MAN has admitted to killing a 21-year-old woman in a car crash after he stole a van and drove it on the wrong side of the road.
Ashley Loveday, 28, was being chased by police in Dagenahm, East London, when he collided with the Toyota Prius carrying Grace Payne home from a night out with her coworkers.
The car’s driver Sunder Ali, 59, was seriously injured in the smash but survived.
Loveday had failed to stop for police before joining the carriageway and was been chased at the time of the crash, at around 2.35am on November 25.
The thug, from Canning Town, East London, also admitted aggravated vehicle taking and causing serious injury by dangerous driving at the Old Bailey today.
The Metropolitan Police are still investigating Grace’s death, while the Independent Office for Police Conduct have launched a probe into Essex Police regarding the circumstances leading up to the crash.
Grace’s heartbroken parents paid tribute to her last month, saying: “Grace’s death has left us, along with the rest of her family and friends, devastated.
“We are struggling to come to terms with the fact that our daughter will never be coming home.”
They went on to say that Grace had graduated this year from the University of Kent with a degree in history and philosophy.
The young woman was working in HR, but her family say her dream was to retrain as a teacher.
They added: “When she helped her Dad and brother, Jack, coach the juniors at Brentwood Cricket Club, she was usually entrusted with the youngest age groups, supplying cuddles whenever necessary.
“She spent much of the summer travelling around Europe with university friends – trips to Italy, Greece, Sicily, Barcelona and Amsterdam.
“It had been a very happy, exciting, busy year. She was a 21-year-old starting to live life to the full after the confinements of Covid.”
Grace had apparently been out with work colleagues for a regular night out but “never made it home”.