'Our best friend and our biggest supporter' - Family of Nila Patel pay tribute

The below tribute has been released by Nila Patel’s son and daughter – Jaidan and Danika Patel.

"Our mum was not just a name in this case. She was a loving mother, a daughter, a sister, a friend, and the heart of our family. She was our best friend and our biggest supporter. Since the day she was taken from us, our lives have been changed forever. We are still trying to process the shock and trauma of losing mum in such a sudden and violent way.

"Mum was a single mother who faced many obstacles and hardships throughout her life — challenges that would have broken most people. Yet no matter what she went through, she would still end each day with a smile bright enough to lift the mood of everyone around her.

"She was quiet, gentle, funny, kind, loving and deeply caring. She always put others before herself and she never expected anything in return. What truly made her happy was making the people around her feel loved — whether that was through a thoughtful gift, a warm meal she had cooked, or one of the sweet desserts she loved to make for us.

"Mum still had so much life ahead of her. She should have had the chance to grow old, to enjoy retirement, to become a grandmother and to celebrate many more milestones with her family. All of those moments have now been taken away from her — and from us.

"The cruelty and senselessness of what happened on that day in June last year is something we will forever struggle to come to terms. The fact that mum was concerned about the defendant after his crash shows exactly the type of person she was. Even in that moment, her instinct was to care about someone else. There isn’t a day goes by where we don't think about her, miss her or wish we could speak to her just one more time. Nothing prepares you for the moment you realise that someone you love so deeply has been taken from you.

"We will carry mum’s love, her guidance, her kindness and the memory of who she was with us every day for the rest of our lives and we will never stop wishing the world could have had more of her in it.

"Mum’s life mattered."