HE was a loving and devoted husband and a wonderful dad who was always willing to help others.
That is how a family has described a father-of-two killed in a horror crash on the M27.
Kevin Burton, 45, from Southampton, died after his silver Ford Focus collided with a DAF articulated lorry on the M27 eastbound near junction 9 at Whiteley.
Now his wife Rachael and children James, nine and Abigail, six, have released a statement paying tribute to the father-of-two.
It read: "We are devastated by Kevin's death, he was our rock. Kevin was a loving and devoted husband to Rachael, 43, and a wonderful and dedicated dad to his two children, James, 9, and Abigail, 6.
“Kevin will be deeply missed by all he knew; he was a man who was always there for his family, friends and colleagues, always willing to help whenever he could. He will be missed for his passion for all things Star Wars, his love of technology, music and movies. His friends of old remember him as 'Kevin b-sides', we loved him just as Kev.
"We are left at a loss as to why he was taken from us now and feel a massive hole is in our hearts. We are thankful for the comfort of our family and friends who have expressed their sincere regret at the loss of Kevin in this tragic accident on March 26.”
The horrific crash, which also involved a lorry fire, closed the motorway for almost 24 hours, causing traffic chaos across the county, with diversion routes blocked for much of the day.
The lorry driver, a 53-year-old man from Wiltshire, was shaken but uninjured.
The scene of the crash
Vehicles were stranded on the motorway for more than six hours until part of the central reservation was removed to allow the standstill traffic to make a u-turn.
It was reopened at 6am the following day after resurfacing work was carried out overnight due to the severe damage to the road.
As reported by the Daily Echo, it led to calls urging people to have their say on how local authorities and emergency services can co-ordinate the aftermath of crashes to prevent the network from regularly grinding to a halt.
Police have since appealed for anyone who may have filmed the major incident on the M27 eastbound on a dashboard camera to come forward.
Anyone with footage should contact police on 101.
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