Families pay emotional video tribute to teenagers Sian Chambers and Alex Ross, killed by drink driver

The families of Alex Ross and Siân Chambers have released tributes following the outcome of a court case yesterday (March 11) involving Matthew Jacobs. You can read more about the case and the verdict here.

Alex and Siân, who were both 19, lost their lives when Jacobs' vehicle crashed into their stationary car in the early hours of December 22, last year.

A Youtube video has been produced in memory of Siân, with photographs selected by her sister, Jenny, and music composed and played by her brother, Tom.

The family of Alex Ross have released the following, part of the Victim Impact Statement read out at Lincoln Crown Court yesterday (Monday): “Alex was our only child. He was born in 1999 and was a source of immense joy to us.

“Alex developed an interest in music at his prep school and, at the age of 10 when pupils had a chance to learn an instrument, he chose the double bass.

“He sat the entrance exam for Caistor Grammar School and achieved a mark of 97%. He was at Caistor for three years, and then won a scholarship to the Purcell School of Music in London.

“He was there for four very happy years. He inherited the Lincolnshire work ethic, doing three hours of practice every day, which all had to be done after normal schoolwork, homework, rehearsals with the school orchestras and eating had all taken place.

“He had a wonderful basso profundo voice and could reach low notes which sent shivers down the spine.

“His bass playing improved enormously and Purcell and he was selected for the National Youth Orchestra of great Britain, with which he played for two years. He played in two televised Proms with them at the Royal Albert Hall.

“From Purcell, he auditioned for and was granted a place to study at the Royal Academy of Music.

“As a child from a very loving and demonstrative home, he treated his friends in the same way, and they adored him for it.

“When I took him back to Purcell after a weekend at home, he would jump out of the car and run into a mass of hugs, kisses and smiling faces. The many cards, letters, visits, telephone calls and emails which we received after his death showed that he was not simply liked or respected but was universally loved by his friends and fellow musicians.

“There are memories of happier times, but those memories are now full of unutterable sadness and grief. They are not happy, because they cannot be dissociated from the fact that the life that gave them has ended so prematurely and in such a dreadful fashion.”