Mother-of-two, 21, dies after being hit by car - as family say she took her own life following mental health battle

Heartbroken relatives of a 21-year-old mother-of-two who died after being hit by a car say she had been struggling with her mental health.

Sophie Browne, 21, from Newton Abbot in Devon, was killed in a collision on the A38 Devon Expressway near Chudleigh Knighton, 10 miles south-west of Exeter, just before 11pm on Saturday May 25.

Her family say they have been 'absolutely devastated' by her death following what they called an 'unfortunate battle with her mental health (that)... resulted in Sophie taking her own life'.

Devon and Cornwall Police confirmed she had been pedestrian on the southbound carriageway of the trunk road when she was struck somewhere between the Drumbridges Roundabout and Chudleigh Knighton.

She was sadly pronounced dead at the scene despite the best efforts of the emergency services.

Social media was flooded with tributes from friends, one of whom called her a 'sweet angel'. Another said she was a 'beautiful girl'.

Ms Browne's sister Chloe has launched a GoFundMe to give her sister 'the send off she deserves'. It has raised just over £1,300 of a £1,500 target.

The proceeds will go towards paying for the young mother's funeral - with any leftover money being put aside for her young children, Rex and Reggie.

Writing on the fundraiser, Chloe said: 'On Saturday 25th May, we sadly lost our dear Sophie Browne - daughter, sister and mother - to an unfortunate battle with her mental health, and this resulted in Sophie taking her own life.

'As you can imagine, her family and friends are absolutely devastated.

'Sophie was loved and cared for by so many people, which makes this so difficult to process. Sophie was taken from this world too young.

'However, she was fighting too many demons to the point where she just needed peace.'

She added that her sister had 'loved and appreciated every single one of her friends and family' - and that Ms Browne had had a 'massive impact' on their lives in return. 

The sister continued: 'Thank you for all the love and kind messages her family and I have received. We are so grateful and blessed to have everyone around supporting us through this.'

Devon and Cornwall Police is continuing to appeal for witnesses and information following the tragedy, which closed the A38 in both directions for more than 12 hours as investigations were carried out.

A statement issued on Monday read: 'Enquiries are ongoing to establish the circumstances.

'If you witnessed the incident or have any information or dashcam footage that could help with enquiries, please contact police via our website here or by calling 101 quoting log 1065 of 25/5/24.'

• For confidential support, call Samaritans on 116 123, visit samaritans.org or visit https://www.thecalmzone.net/get-support