Picture released of Belper dad and daughter who died in crash

The family of a young dad and his six-year-old daughter who died in a road crash in Derbyshire have released a picture of them.
Ruby and James Watson. Picture submitted by family.Ruby and James Watson. Picture submitted by family.
Ruby and James Watson. Picture submitted by family.

James and Ruby Watson, both from Belper, were passengers in a blue Fiat Panda which collided with a railing in Kilbourne Road, Belper, at 1.25am on Sunday.

James's partner, who was also Ruby's mother, was driving the car at the time. She remains in a critical but stable condition in the Queen's Medical Centre in Nottingham.

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Much-loved Ruby was a pupil at Pottery Primary School in Belper.

In a statement, headteacher Gill Hutton and chair of governors Julian Hodgson said: "Ruby was a very popular child who had a smile for everyone.

"She was a thoughtful friend who was kind and caring; Ruby will be greatly missed by staff and pupils alike.

"Our thoughts are with Ruby's family and friends at this time of loss and we would ask that their privacy and space to grieve are respected over the coming weeks.

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"The local authority is working closely with our staff to help those affected by this tragic event.

"We will continue to do all we can to support our school community during this very sad and difficult time."

A Derbyshire Constabulary spokesman said: "Anyone with information, or anyone who has dashboard camera footage of the collision or the car prior to the crash, should call us on 101 quoting incident number 92 of April 30."

As previously reported, an inquest into the deaths of James and Ruby Watson is due to open tomorrow at Derby coroners' court tomorrow morning and two JustGiving pages have been set up to help family following the tragedy.