Tributes paid to Lincoln dad-of-two who died in A46 crash
Damian Buckle's partner says she's still expecting him to walk through the door
Happy to help anyone who needed it, a joker, a loving father, and a man who showed others the value in life – this is the man the family of 36-year-old Damian Buckle say they have lost after he died in a fatal collision.
The father of two from Lincoln, lost his life in a collision on the A46 near Dunholme on 13th August this year. His family has today issued a tribute to him, saying the loss of their happy-go-lucky “gentle giant” will always be felt.
Long-term partner Kim Knott, who he shared one-year-old Theo-James with, says she is still expecting Damian – known as Damo and Da-Man to those close to him – to walk through the door:
“I feel like I’m in a dream at the moment, and none of this is real. My family – Theo’s family – has been taken from us. I think I’ll feel like this until I get more answers, and understand what happened.
“He was the happiest, most laid-back guy you could ever wish to meet, and would do anything for anyone who needed it. He helped a man he’d never met push his bike all the way a garage once when he saw him with a puncture. When we met, he made me realise that there was more to me and my life than I was living, and changed me into the person I am today. He gave advice, talked to you. That was just the kind of person he was.”
Damian died riding a motorbike, something Kim says was one of his biggest passions. He was a regular at bike meets in the county, and spent time working on motorcycles with friends. He also loved fitness and was a regular at Pacific Gym in Lincoln when he wasn’t caring for his mum.
He saw Kim and his son Theo just hours before he died. Theo had turned one just a week and a half earlier.
“He popped round and said he was going to help a friend fix his bike, and that he’d see me later for a cup of tea,” said Kim.__
“I’m still waiting for and expecting that message to come through. The hardest thing is hearing Theo calling for Da-da and knowing he can’t come.”
Kim’s brother and Damian’s best friend of seven years, Kian, added that for them, life was about making memories:
“If we didn’t see each other that day, then it was because there wasn’t a new memory to be made; that’s what he was like, living life for the memories. He was like a brother to me, showed me the right path to be on.”
Damian also leaves a ten-year-old son. His mother, step dad and three sisters, who paid their own tribute separately, added that they will all miss him terribly.