“I don’t know how we carry on without him,” Amanda Pearce says, her voice breaking. “It just doesn’t feel real.”
The mother of two was describing the devastating loss of her son Edward, who died after being hit by a vehicle while changing a tyre on his way to work one morning this summer.
For Mrs Pearce and her husband Nick, the grief is heartbreakingly familiar. Fourteen years earlier, the couple lost their first child, William, to cancer.
Edward Pearce, affectionately known to family and friends as Bunty, was struck on an A-road when a Mercedes Sprinter van crashed into him.
The 20-year-old died days later, but in his final act he helped save seven people’s lives through the donation of six organs.
It was bittersweet for his parents as, at the age of four, Edward had donated his bone marrow to try to help his brother William – who had leukaemia.
At the time, William refused to go to his radiotherapy session so he could walk ‘Bunty’, who he had helped nickname, into the operating theatre.
Edward Pearce, known to loved ones as Bunty, was killed after a Mercedes Sprinter van plogued into him as he changed a tyre
Edward’s parents Nick and Amanda pictured here with older brother William, who died of cancer 14 years ago
Despite Edward giving his bone marrow, his brother died of the disease two years later.
Mr and Mrs Pearce have now opened up about living every parent’s worst nightmare – burying their children.
‘I don’t know how we carry on without him. I really don’t. It just doesn’t feel real. It doesn’t feel like the world could possibly be this cruel to take both of our boys,’ Mrs Pearce told the Daily Mail.
‘He carried us through everything. He didn’t know it but he pulled us through Will’s death and now we’ve got nothing, nothing left.’
Edward was a trainee plumber who planned to move to Australia with his best friend Toby after he had all the necessary qualifications.
When he was a child, he saw how his older brother wanted to donate his organs after a long battle with cancer, so signed up.
While organ donation now operates as an ‘opt-out’ system across Britain, Edward registered to become one long before this was rolled out in 2020.
Mr Pearce said: ‘He registered as an organ donor as early as he could and he re-registered the moment he got a driver’s licence. He didn’t want any chance of that not being on there.’
He added: ‘Will and Bunt were so close. Bunt always used to wear a bandana because Will had no hair after his cancer treatment. The two were inseparable.’
Now the parents, who are raising money for the Children With Cancer Fund in memory of Edward, must contend with life without their two children.
Mrs Pearce said: ‘We’ve lost all the hopes and dreams of what his future was going to be.
Pictured: The two brothers Edward (right) and Will were described by their parents as ‘inseparable’
‘All the adventures we won’t get to do. All of the fun. All of the holidays, from the proposal to the marriage to the buying of the first house to the grandchildren.
‘Everything stopped on that day. On that Monday the 13th. It is so horrific. We’ve got nothing now. We’ve got a house with a playroom, two spare bedrooms, and just nothing, nothing at all now. There’s no Easter, no Halloween, no Christmas – all of the things that Bunt loved.’
Hundreds attended Edward’s funeral last month. His family say that it took an hour-and-a-half just to get into the wake building because of the number of people there.
People from nearby the town of Heathfield, many of whom Edward’s parents had not known, spoke to them about how much they admired him.
‘Whether it was the supplier shop for his plumbing, his friends or just people Bunt had met, it was just a testament to his character because he had touched so many people with his heart,’ Mr Pearce said.
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Edward was on his way to work on a Monday morning when he was killed. The last time anybody saw him conscious was the Sunday before his death – but it was said to have been an incredible day.
He enjoyed endurance motorbiking, so he spent the morning riding his bike and then met his girlfriend, Arabella.
He went for a walk with her along the beach for three hours. Both of them had left their phones at home so they could enjoy each other’s company. They then went out for dinner.
Hundreds attended Edward’s funeral last month
He had described the day before his death as the ‘best Sunday he had ever had’, according to his father.
He got up early on Monday morning so he could get to Brighton for work. But not long after he set off, he noticed he had a flat tyre and pulled over on the side of an A-road.
He called his mother but was insistent he would change it himself because he was worried he would be late to work otherwise. That was the last time Mrs Pearce spoke to her son.
‘I had Bunt on Find My Phone and I was just thinking why on earth has he not moved? It can’t have taken that long,’ she said.
Two police officers then came to Mr and Mrs Pearce’s house. Mr Pearce was working abroad at the time but was on the phone with his wife when they arrived.
‘My heart sank immediately. At that point I just broke down because I knew it was going to be horrific,’ said Mr Pearce.
Mrs Pearce was driven to the hospital where Edward was being treated but was not allowed to go see him because of the extent of his injuries.
‘I just wanted to let him know I was there. I didn’t want him to be scared,’ she said.
Mr Pearce described how Edward had lost half of his leg at the scene and that doctors could not stop the bleeding.
More than 50 people came and visited him and his girlfriend slept on the chair next to his bed for days.
Edward died a few days later and staff gave him a guard of honour, lining the hallways to commemorate his immense courage as a donor.
‘I know we’ve been here before, losing a son. And I will never know if losing them in an instant or with years of notice is “better”, but losing Bunt in an instant for me was just devastating,’ said Mr Pearce.
Edward’s girlfriend, Arabella told the Daily Mail: ‘Ed became my everything almost instantly, it wasn’t just his beautiful face but his amazing character. He was a gentle soul with a big heart and even bigger smile.
‘He made me feel beyond loved in every possible way. He was remarkably generous. He would get me flowers once or twice a month and pick me up from work every night without fail.
‘We wanted to travel the world – go to Australia and America. We said when we both turned 21, we would go to Las Vegas to get married in the little white chapel by Elvis to recreate the film The Hangover. We thought it was really funny at the time.
‘He also loved country music, as do I, so we had planned to drive Route 66, getting cowboy boots, hitting the road and exploring. I will endlessly grieve a future we were meant to have together.’
The driver of the Mercedes van, a 31-year-old man from Bexhill, was arrested on suspicion of causing serious injury by dangerous driving and drug driving. He has since been released on bail.
Police are appealing for any drivers who passed Edward’s stranded van, or anyone with dashcam footage from the area at the time, to come forward.
Edward’s friends paid tribute to Edward at the funeral by riding endurance motorbikes, one of his favourite hobbies
Drivers can report any information to Sussex Police, quoting Operation Wickham.
Mrs Pearce added: ‘We just need that man to know what he’s taken away from us. He was a good boy who was just trying to get to work at the beginning of the most exciting career and the most exciting life. He has taken that all away.’
The family have launched a JustGiving page to raise money for the Children with Cancer Fund – who they say have helped them through the death of their son William.