I said 'Mum and Dad look so good. I have years left with them'... How wrong I was

DAUGHTER RECALLS DAY PARENTS DIED IN FLASH FLOODING

- By LIAM THORP

THE devastated daughter of a devoted married couple who died when their car became trapped in floodwater in a south Liverpool road said the devastation of their loss had “completely shattered her world.”

Sarah Marco, daughter of Elaine and Philip Marco, who died in Queens Drive in August 2023, spoke of how, 54 years on from their wedding day, when they should have been celebrating, their bodies were being prepared for autopsies and burial in a tragedy that will live with their family forever.

Sarah, one of four children to Elaine and Philip, held back tears as she delivered a powerful statement at the opening of the inquest into her parents’ deaths.

She described her mum and dad as the family’s “heroes, guides and safe space” and said “we have all lost our foundation.”

The couple, who were well known in south Liverpool and in the city’s Jewish community, died when their car became submerged in flash flooding under a railway bridge in a section of Queens Drive in Mossley Hill on August 26, 2023.

They were just a few days away from their 54th wedding anniversary when the tragedy happened.

Emergency services were called to the scene at 9.20pm, and police performed CPR on Mrs Marco, aged 76, before she was taken to the Royal Liverpool Hospital, where she was pronounced dead at 10.50pm.

A further search of the flooded road located the vehicle submerged in the water.

Mr Marco was found at 10.47pm and was treated at the scene before being taken to hospital, where he was pronounced dead at 11.20pm.

The tragedy sparked major questions about the danger of flooding in the area and has seen Liverpool City Council bring in a range of safety measures, with a section of Queens Drive shut for five months.