Fiancé’s vigil after hen party carnage LATEST

JOY TO SORROW: Seriously injured bride-to-be Stefanie Firth, right, with three of the hen party who were on board the minibus when it was involved in a horrific crash with a lorry on the M62 near Castleford, from left, Sarah Johnson, Fiona Wood and Ashleigh Warner. PIC: Ross Parry

Stefanie Firth, 24, is one of seven women being treated at Leeds General Infirmary after Friday’s crash on the M62 in West Yorkshire, which killed 18-year-old Leeds University student Bethany Jones, from Pontefract.

They were among 21 women in a minibus that was involved in a collision with a lorry at about 11.30am at junction 32 for Castleford.

The group had been on their way from South Elmsall to Liverpool for Miss Firth’s hen party when the accident sent the minibus careering off the westbound carriageway onto the slip road, where it landed on its side.

A spokesman for the LGI said one of the injured was still in intensive care last night and one was on the high-dependency unit. Five were being cared for in the major trauma unit, which only opened at the start of the month to treat patients from across the region.

Their injuries ranged from serious internal injuries to broken bones.

All of those at the hospital were in a stable condition last night.

Another woman remained at James Cook University Hospital in Middlesbrough.

There are now major doubts about whether Miss Firth will be well enough to go through with her wedding to fiancé Gary Leafe, 28, scheduled for a couple of weeks’ time. Mr Leafe was said to be keeping a vigil at his fiancée’s hospital bedside over the weekend.

Other members of the couple’s families were among those injured.

Miss Jones’s death has touched people across the world. One memorial group set up on Facebook was “liked” by more than 100,000 people over the weekend.

A campaign to raise cash for the Yorkshire Air Ambulance – which did not attend Friday’s incident because its aircraft were grounded for scheduled maintenance – was also launched on the Justgiving website. It raised thousands of pounds within a matter of hours of being set up.

In a statement, Miss Jones’s family said: “Beth was a fun and bubbly girl who was caring and considerate to everyone she met.

“She was the apple of her grandad’s eye and she will never be forgotten and sadly missed by everyone.”

Police are continuing to investigate the circumstances surrounding Friday’s incident, which closed the motorway for several hours and sparked a huge rescue operation by a raft of emergency services, including six air ambulances.

The 43-year-old driver of the lorry, who was arrested on suspicion of causing death by dangerous driving, has been released on police bail.