Friends pay tribute to man killed in motorway accident

TOUCHING tributes have been paid to a young Mirfield man killed in a motorway accident.

Declan Butters was described as ‘the nicest guy in the entire world’ by friends devastated at his death.

The 20-year-old, of Brown Street, died on Tuesday January 11 after being struck by a HGV on the M62.

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Speaking ahead of Declan’s funeral today, his friends Joe Carlile and Raith Sidwell said they felt like they had lost a brother.

“Last Tuesday, we lost the best thing in our lives,” they said. “We feel like we’ve lost a brother. All the words in the world are not enough to describe how much Declan meant to us and to everyone else who ever had the honour of meeting him. He was genuinely the nicest guy in the entire world.

“We will always remember his cheeky smile and brilliant sense of humour and the way he drove on through any adversity so that others wouldn’t see him upset. He was a credit to everyone who knew him and is already missed dearly.

“Declan was taken from us so cruelly but he’ll never be forgotten. The best memories we have feature Declan and no-one will ever forget the impact he had on their lives.”

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The funeral at Mirfield Parish Church at 9.45am will be followed by a private cremation and a wake at Mirfield Constitutional Club, St Paul’s Road.

Last Friday, an inquest heard the young labourer died from head injuries after stepping into the path of an HGV.

Coroner David Hinchcliff said Declan pulled over on the hard shoulder near junction 30 at 7.20am.

He said: “The deceased managed to bring the vehicle to stop on the hard shoulder and got out and lifted the bonnet. For some reason he stepped into lane one and was instantly struck by an HGV.”

Declan was pronounced dead at Pinderfields Hospital at 11.30am.

The inquest was adjourned for further enquiries.

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