Here I am at the grave of Vicki
O’Keefe, a young actress from Dewsbury actress who died aged 21. She was
returning from an Easter outing with two friends and their 11-month-old baby
daughter on the M62 motorway. The Ford Escort went out of control on a
contra-flow system crossing the line into the path of a lorry. The road surface
was wet from rain. All four died but oddly her boyfriend who was driving was
injured and suffered serious internal and facial injuries. The lorry driver was
taken to hospital suffering from shock and later sent home.
At the time Vicki was living in Dewsbury with her folks and brother.
She had joined the Dewsbury Arts Group aged 11 and gone on to act in films and the
odd television series. Her first television role was in the BBC series Nanny when she played alongside Wendy
Craig as an evacuee. From then on her acting career went from success to
success. She landed the leading role in Letty,
a children's television programme. She was also in Emmerdale, The Luddites, Threads and Daisy
Pulls It Off.
Over 500
mourners gathered for the one-hour service at St. Joseph's Roman Catholic
Church in Batley which Vicki attended as a child. An extra car was needed to
carry the hundreds of wreaths and bouquets. All
Things Bright and Beautiful was sang at the service before police cars
escorted the cortege here to Hanging Heaton Parish Church where she was buried.
If you see a red wreath you just
have to salute…