Tributes to car crash victim (From Thisisdorset)

Tributes to car crash victim

8:53am Wednesday 2nd January 2013 in Latest

Darius Garncarz

THE family of a Bournemouth chef who died in a car crash last week have paid tribute to his generosity and friendliness.

Darius Garncarz, 31, was killed when his Audi A6 left the road and hit a tree on the B3070 near Wareham, when he was heading home from work on Friday.

The loss was all the more painful for his mother Jagoda Ratowski, 52, who flew to the UK from Philadelphia on Monday, as it follows the death of her other son Marcin seven years ago.

She plans to take her son’s ashes home to bury them with his brother.

“He was always so close to his brother and I want them to be together,” she said.

“Whenever he would ring me up he would always say he had been thinking about Marcin. He was very close to his family and everyone loved him.

“We will never forget him.”

She said the last time she saw her son was on a trip they took together to Italy where he was excited about trying all the different varieties of food on offer.

“We had a beautiful time together and I have beautiful memories of that,” she said.

Mr Garncarz had lived in Bournemouth for seven years working as an agency chef, at the Royal Bath Hotel, The Ship in Distress in Christchurch and the Mansfield Hotel in West Cliff.

His aunt Beata Fila said he was well known for his friendliness and sense of humour.

“Nobody could laugh like Darius, he loved a good joke and was always smiling,” she added.

He was born in Brzesko in Poland, but moved to Philadelphia with his mum when he was 14, where he trained to be a chef after being inspired by his brother’s love of cooking.

His cousin Maciej Posladek, 29, grew up with him in Poland, and they lived together in Bournemouth for several years.

He said: “He was more like a brother to me than a cousin. He was always happy to support me and other people and help them out.

“He was very happy in Bournemouth, he loved the place and had lots of friends here.

“We are getting a lot of support from people. He was well known here as he worked at a lot of places.”

As well as cooking and eating Mr Garncarz loved gangsta rap music, and was an avid fan of Ultimate Fighting Championship.

He was planning to go travelling in Asia with friends.

Among the family who have come to the UK to pay their respects are Mr Garncarz’s uncle and godfather Janusz Kobylecki, and cousins Albert Kobylecki and Agnieszka Kobylecka.

An inquest into his death is to be opened in the new year.