Heart of gold tribute to Dudley road crash victim
The sister of a man who died after a suspected hit-and-run crash said he 'had a heart of gold' and 'would do anything to help anyone'.
Darren Smart died at the scene of the incident in The Parade, Dudley. He had been visiting his mother Barbara in Elm Road on the Priory Estate and was walking with a friend at the time of the accident, at around 8.50pm last Friday.
Mr Smart's sister, Karen Shotton, today paid tribute to him.
Mrs Shotton, aged 44, said: "He was a wonderful man with a heart of gold. All the family are still in a state of shock, he didn't deserve to go out like this, nobody does."
Mrs Shotton said her brother, aged 39, was well known for his sense of humour and helpful nature.
"Darren was always laughing and joking and he didn't change over the years. He would do anything to help anyone. If ever anyone needed an odd-job doing he would be the first one to chip in, and he never wanted anything for it."
She said her seven-year-old daughter Darcey would miss playing football with her uncle Darren in the garden. "He loved Darcey," she said.
A 36 year old man voluntarily attended Dudley police police station last weekend to speak to officers as part of the investigation, which is still ongoing.
Mrs Shotton, who lives in Sedgley, said: "We are at a standstill at the moment over exactly what happened. We want to make arrangements for the funeral but can't do anything until the police have finished their investigation."
Mr Smart was a former pupil of Priory Primary School on Cedar Road and later attended The Dudley School which has since become Castle High School.
He was the youngest of nine children and lived on King Street in Dudley town centre.
Mrs Shotton said the family was still coming to terms with the loss of their father, Les, who died last year aged 83.
"Darren was very close to his dad, he absolutely adored him. His death was very sudden and it hit us all very hard, so losing Darren now is so difficult for all of us."
She added friends of her brother on the Priory Estate had started a collection in his honour to contribute towards funeral costs.
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