Grandma

FOUR children have been detained after allegedly stealing a car and mowing down an elderly woman before fleeing the scene.

Cecilia De Astis, 71, died after being struck by an out-of-control vehicle while walking in the Italian city of Milan on Monday.

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The grandma had just left a lunch at the “House of Solidarity” – run by the Brothers of St. Francis – in her local Gratosoglio neighbourhood when the tragic incident occurred, reports Italian outlet La Stampa.

Local police took four children – aged between 11 and 13 – into custody on suspicion of vehicular homicide aggravated by failure to provide assistance.

The children were identified by the T-shirts they were wearing, which had been caught on surveillance cameras from a nearby shop.

Under Italian law, children under 14 are not criminally liable.

The minors were tracked down at a Roma settlement on Via Selvanesco, according to Il Fatto Quotidiano.

The stolen Citroën reportedly skidded, crashed into a curb and struck De Astis – throwing her several metres into the air – before slamming into a nearby road sign.

The impact was said to have been devastating – despite emergency services’ quick arrival, nothing could be done to save the woman.

Her sons, Gaetano and Filippo, arrived at the scene shortly afterwards and collected the few belongings left scattered on the road – including the face of their mum’s wristwatch.

Originally from Puglia, De Astis had worked for over 30 years as a textile worker at the Cederna cotton mill before retiring, according to La Stampa.

Dozens of messages of condolence have reportedly been posted in a social media group created by former mill employees.

De Astis had dinner with her sons the night before the incident.

“The only blessing is that we managed to have dinner together the night before,” they told the newspaper.

Her granddaughter said: “She was my second mother, we grew up together. She was a good woman. You can’t die like that.”

The stolen Citroën – which had French number plates – reportedly belonged to a 20-year-old from Strasbourg who was visiting Milan with three friends.

He had parked the car about a mile from the scene and gone to visit the Leonardo da Vinci Museum of Science and Technology with his friends, only to return and find it missing.

He reported it stolen on Sunday evening.

It comes as a popular travel influencer couple who documented their van life adventures online have died in an off-road crash.

Stacey Tourout and Matthew Yeomans reportedly lost control while driving through rough terrain in the mountains near Trout Lake, British Columbia, Canada.

The Canadian couple ran the Toyota World Runners YouTube channel, which had over 200,000 subscribers, and also built a following of 72,000 on Instagram.

News of their deaths was shared by friends and family on social media and confirmed by Kaslo Search and Rescue, who responded to the scene.

A BELOVED grandmother choked to death after being fed the wrong food in a care home.

Joan Whitworth died at the Oaks Care Home in Northumberland after staff prepared her meal in a way which “did not comply with her diet plan”.

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An inquest heard the 88-year-old had lived with her daughter Gillian but moved into the facility when her dementia progressed.

When eating a meal on March 3, 2023, Joan began to display signs of choking.

But the inquest heard how a care assistant did not intervene and had to ask another staff member for help to deliver back slaps and abdominal thrusts.

And, CPR was not performed due to the “inaccurate understanding of a registered nurse”.

Following the hearing, Northumberland’s senior coroner Andrew Hetherington has written a “prevention of future deaths” report.

The care home and NHS trust have 56 days to respond.

The coroner concluded Joan died “in a care home as a result of choking”.

And in his written report, he outlined a total of six “matters of concern”.

Of these, one was regarding the NHS trust and five were directed to the care home’s operator Hillcare.

The first issue was found with the speech and language team.

Joan’s assessment had not been written down in a formal report, meaning observations of her eating had only been passed on verbally.

The coroner also concluded that a nurse and care assistant at the home “were not in date with their training in Basic Life Support and First Aid at Work”.

The coroner added: “I am concerned that a chef in evidence at the inquest was not aware that breaded fish was not a suitable food stuff in the diet identified for the deceased.

“I am concerned that other residents could be fed inappropriate food stuffs that are not in line with their identified diet plans.”

Bryan Smith, Joan’s son-in-law, told ChronicleLive: “Right from the start, we knew what had happened – that they hadn’t given her the right food.

“We knew she hadn’t been looked after.

“The reason we have pursued this is that we knew what had happened.”

Bryan added how the family had been “shocked and astounded by the quantity and severity of the mistakes” that were highlighted in the inquest.

He told how many families have shared similar “painful and shocking experiences”.

In a statement on behalf of the family read in court, they paid tribute: “Joan was a well loved character in Blyth. She was manager of Robson’s shoe shop and then moved to the Water Board.

“When we used to go shopping with Joan, it would take you an hour to get past the car park – as she knew everyone in Blyth with a tap or a pair of shoes!”

A Northumbria Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust spokesperson said: “All referrals to our speech and language therapy service are robustly triaged using a risk and evidence-based approach to inform the most appropriate care for that individual. This includes information on the referral form and discussion with the patient and / or those who care for them daily to gather the most up-to-date information.

“We cannot comment further on this case due to patient confidentiality, but would like to offer our sincere condolences to Mrs Whitworth’s family and loved ones.”

A spokesperson for The Oaks Care Home said: “We acknowledge the Coroner’s report relating to the death of Joan Whitworth at our home in March 2023. Our thoughts remain with her family and loved ones.

“Following the incident, we carried out a full review and made all necessary changes to our practices and procedures. These have been in place for some time and will be reflected in our formal response to the Coroner’s report. The safety, dignity, and wellbeing of those in our care remain our highest priorities.”

A 68-YEAR-OLD woman has revealed that she said ‘I Do’ with her Nigerian toyboy, who is 43 years her junior.

When Kay, 68, and Ablack, 25, first connected on Facebook, they had no idea that a simple social media like would lead to marriage. 

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But now, the couple have opened up on their unique relationship and explained how just three days after meeting in real life, Kay’s toyboy popped the question.

Revealing all to Truly, on an episode of Love Don’t Judge, the couple admitted that they are constantly stared at in the street and Kay has even been accused of being Ablack’s “grandma”.

Opening up about how their relationship first blossomed, Kay recognised: “He liked something I posted. He went from somebody who liked my post to my very best friend, I could tell him everything. It just kept getting stronger and stronger.” 

After three failed marriages, Kay was initially “very leery about being scammed” by the youngster.

Not only was the mother called “crazy” by many, but before long, the couple had tied the knot, with Ablack being Kay’s fourth husband. 

Despite falling in love, the couple constantly face judgement over their age gap, with Kay being 43 years older than Ablack. 

But Kay beamed: “I do not feel old when I’m around him. I feel very young, like a teenager.” 

With Ablack based in Nigeria and Kay over in the US, the pair have had to make the relationship work with the geographical distance. 

However, Ablack knows that the pair are destined to be, as he acknowledged: “A prophet told me that I’m going to get married to a white woman and here she is.”

But although destiny brought them together, not everyone agrees with their relationship, as Ablack said, “Some people say, ‘she’s old enough to be your mum’. Some say, ‘you’re married to your grandma’, ‘she’s too old for you’.

“Anywhere we go, people take pictures of us.” 

Not only this, but people have even accused Ablack of getting “married for a US green card”. 

Be careful girl. Scammers can be “in love” too!

YouTube user

Clearly unfazed by the judgement, Kay, who is often referred to as Ablack’s “sugar mummy”, said: “I’ve never felt love like this before.

“This is the one I’m supposed to be with, I just had to wait a long time for him to be born.

“He treats me like a Queen. I’m his priority.” 

A-list age gap relationships that have stood the test of time

1. Kris Jenner & Corey Gamble – 25 years
   The Kardashian matriarch, 69, met her younger man, 44, at a mutual friend’s 40th birthday party in Ibiza. They’ve been together since August 2014.
2. Sam & Aaron Taylor-Johnson – 23 years
   The director, 57, and actor, 34, reportedly met at a film audition in 2009, and were married by 2012. The pair share two daughters and Sam has two children from a previous marriage.
3. Rosie-Huntington-Whiteley & Jason Statham – 20 years
   The model, 37, started dating actor Jason, 57, in 2010. They were wed in 2016 and have since welcomed a son and a daughter together.
4. Catherine Zeta-Jones & Michael Douglas – 25 years
   Catherine, 55, was introduced to Michael, 80, a film festival in 1996 and engaged three years later. Shortly after their engagement, the couple welcomed a son and married in 2000.

Social media users react

Social media users were left stunned by the couple’s age gap relationship – and nasty trolls were out in full force in the comments on the YouTube clip. 

One person said: “As a middle aged woman who’s probably close to her age, this makes me uncomfortable.” 

This is the one I’m supposed to be with, I just had to wait a long time for him to be born

Kay

Another added: “The prophet”s name is Visa.” 

A third warned: “Be careful girl. Scammers can be “in love” too!”

At the same time, someone else wrote: “Hope she has a lot of money to feed his whole family, why else would a 25 year old be with a woman in her 60s.”  

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