THE devastated wife of a dad-of-two who was killed in a motorcycle crash in Knutsford is organising a motorbike and van ride next month to mark the one year anniversary of his death.
Former policeman Ian Glanister, from St Helens, was on his way home from work at Egertons Recovery in Knutsford on Thursday, March 28 2019 when he was involved in the fatal crash.
Ian was riding his motorcycle on Manchester Road when a crash occurred with a car leaving Cottons Hotel in Knutsford at around 6.25pm.
The 29-year-old died at the scene.
Ian
Ian had an advanced driving licence from his time in the Civil Nuclear Constabulary after training with Merseyside Police.
He had taken voluntary early retirement to spend more time with his children and had been working at Egertons Recovery for around nine months due to his love of vehicles before the crash in Knutsford.
His widow Leighanne, 31, said: "This year has been so hard for us as a key member of our family is not here anymore.
"Poor Jennifer is having a really hard time missing her dad and keeps asking why she can't see him. She is still so young.
Ian with his two daughter's Jennifer, six and Megan, nine
"I regularly visit the crash site and put flowers down, so on his anniversary I wanted to do something special to show everyone we have not forgotten him or what has happened.
"On March 28, we will be holding a memorial procession to mark the one year anniversary of Ian's death. It will be a procession of bikes, cars and vans leaving St Helens and travelling to the crash site and we want people to join us.
"At 6.17pm, the exact time of the accident, we will form a line of 50 people to mark the 50 minutes my husband was worked on by emergency services and we will stand in silence playing a song from the funeral.
"We will then lay a line of orange roses to mark those fateful 50 minutes.
The tributes left at the crash site
"I want to show all in Knutsford near the site that I have not forgotten, we have not forgotten what happened, and we will remember Ian because he is loved and missed by so many everyday.
"We need answers as to why my daughter doesn't have her dad anymore."
Leighanne, who moved to Lancaster with their daughter Jennifer, six, to be close to her family after the accident, added: "I had to move because after what happened we couldn't try to create our new normal because everything around us was broken and everyone knew what happened.
Jennifer and Leighanne now
"More than anything it's hard to know that a life has been taken.
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"It's so easy for people to dismiss a person on a bike, but more awareness of bikes on the road needs to happen, maybe that message could be something positive to come out of this in Ian's memory."
More information of the ride out including times and where everyone will set off from on March 28 will be published closer to the event.
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