Fiance Recalls Last Moments With Ecuadorian Politician’s Daughter Before Car Crash

Vanessa Sagnay de la Bastida, the daughter of an Ecuadorian politician, was brutally killed in front of her fiance, Michael Williams, by a speeding Mercedes, according to the court proceedings.

According to Metro, the 28-year-old woman was crossing the road close to Wandsworth Bridge in west London when the event happened. The news reports mentioned that the driver of the speeding Mercedes, 39-year-old Octavian Cadar, was overspeeding at more than twice the legal limit at the time of the collision.   

Charlotte's marriage and life end due to the mishap                    

The consequence resulted in Sagnay, also known as Charlotte, somersaulting through the air before landing on a railing. Despite consistent efforts made by an off-duty doctor, she died 13 minutes later at the scene from a severe head injury, according to The Metro.

Cadar, of Bexley, south-east London, has already been admitted causing death by careless driving but denied the more serious charge of causing death by dangerous driving. According to reports, Cadar had just finished at a nearby McDonald's drive-through and was on his way to see his girlfriend in Fulham when the mishap causing a terrible crash took place. The accident happened at around 10:06 pm on March 16, 2022.

Meanwhile, Prosecutor Amanda Hilton said, "As they came to the traffic lights, Mr Williams pressed the button and looked to the right and the road was clear. They started crossing towards the central reservation."

As they were crossing, Octavian Cadar drove his Mercedes after the roundabout at an exceedingly wrongful speed. They heard the car coming. Williams ran on the journey they were taking. Charlotte ran back to the pavement they had just left and the Mercedes struck her."

Williams, who witnessed the collision, told police Charlotte was hit on the left-hand side by the bonnet of the car and he watched as Charlotte was thrown forward onto a railing. He heard her scream and then he saw her land on the ground. He described the moment he realised that his fiancee was not with him by saying, ‘I was not holding her hand anymore.’

During Hilton’s opening speech, Charlotte’s mother began to weep loudly in court and appeared shocked to learn the defendant had touched her daughter as she lay mortally wounded.

While giving evidence to the respective authorities on Monday, Williams said he had known Charlotte throughout school and university in Scotland, where they grew up. The soon-to-be-married couple had moved to London for work and study and had been on their way home from the gym when the accident happened.