The mum-of-one had previously been reported missing from the Club Liv nightclub in Manchester city centre by worried family
The heartbroken mother of a young woman who was killed in a horror ‘160mph’ motorway crash says she sees her daughter in her dreams every night.
Joetta Shumba, 25, was killed when the Audi she was travelling in collided with a lorry on the M62 near Eccles Interchange in the early hours of Sunday, January 24.
The mum-of-one had previously been reported missing from the Club Liv nightclub in Manchester city centre by worried family.
Speaking exclusively to the M.E.N, Joetta’s mum, Patricia, has spoken about the moment she learned her daughter had died and paid tribute to the ‘happy, good hearted’ young woman.
She said: “Joetta was a very happy person. Very warm and good hearted. She was a very private person but very close to her family and her sisters.”
Joetta left her five-year-old son Zane with his grandparents and left home at around 10pm on Saturday January 23 to meet friends in Manchester city centre.
When she did not turn up the following day friends and family reported her missing to the police.
Patricia said she knew something was wrong when Joetta failed to answer her phone.
She said: “Her sisters tried calling and she didn’t answer, which is strange. I tried her friends and then I tried Zane’s grandparents who said they had not heard from her. Usually she would always ring them to ask how Zane is.
“She had left the house at 10pm so I thought I would call the police at 10pm on the dot to report her missing. Her phone was still ringing but there was no answer.”
It was only the following evening that police reported the tragic news that Joetta had been killed in the crash.
Patricia said: “The PC asked if she had her a certain part of her ear pierced and that’s when I got nervous and thought, ‘it’s not going to be good news’.
“We had heard about the accident the night before but I didn’t realise or think about it.”
Mum-of-three Patricia said the most difficult thing about Joetta’s death was telling Zane that his mum will not be coming back.
She said: “We are trying to be as honest with him as possible.
“We tell him what happened and he does not understand what it means because he does not know what death is, but he knows his mum is not coming back. I didn’t want him to think there is a chance she’s coming back.
“But he knows she loved him very much. He knows that she didn’t leave because she didn’t love him.
“He does ask about her all the time. I think he’s a bit calmer than he was before.”
Martin Grant, 30, has pleaded guilty to causing Joetta’s death by dangerous driving and is due to be sentenced at Manchester Crown Court on Monday.
Grant, previously of Jacey Road, Edgbaston, in Birmingham, was himself seriously injured in the crash.
Police have released an image of the speedometer on Grant’s Audi stuck on 160mph following the collision.
Patricia said police told her that there was a suspicion that Grant could have been travelling at that speed at the time of the crash.
She said: “I don’t know how fast those cars can really go.
“It’s a horrible speed if that’s what actually happened. It’s very scary.”
Patricia said Joetta had never mentioned Grant and believes she did not know him very well.
She said the family will not be attending court to watch the sentencing as it will be of no benefit to them.
She added: “I’m not feeling angry – it’s more of a numb feeling.
“I do have some questions but I don’t think I will get the answers from him. Even if I knew where and when they met it wouldn’t make a difference.”
Joetta was born in Uganda and moved to Manchester with her family in 1997.
A pupil at Chorlton High School, she studied at Loreto College and gained a degree in sociology and journalism from the University of Salford in 2013.
The former waitress, who lived in Fallowfield, was delighted when she started a job at the PR firm MWH, in Salford Quays, last April. She had hoped to save up for a home for herself and Zane.
Patricia said she, Joetta’s dad Harrison, Joetta’s sister Chipo, 18, and Jessica, 12, and her little boy will never get over her death.
She said: “It just feels very unreal that I’m actually talking about it and that it happened. I can hear my words coming out but it still feels like it’s not really what happened.
“I see her in my dreams and I won’t remember what has happened when I wake up in the morning. Then I remember.
“It’s a strange feeling, like I’m still waiting for something to happen.”
Anyone who would like to donate money in Joetta’s name is asked to donate to Once Upon A Smile – a charity which helps bereaved children, including Zane.-manchestereveningnews.co.uk
