Family pay tribute to 16-year-old girl who died in a crash in the Cotswolds

She died after the car she was a passenger in left the road and collided with a tree.

Author: Luke ReeveyPublished 28th Feb 2025

The family of a teenage girl who died following a crash in the Cotswolds earlier this month have paid tribute, describing her as being “full of life, always happy and smiling.”

Emergency services were called to an unclassified road near the village of Elkstone at around 2.20am on Monday 17th February following reports a white Volkswagen Polo had left the road and collided with a tree.

16-year-old Zuzanna Gniada- who is from the outskirts of Stroud and was a passenger in the car- was taken to Southmead Hospital where she died from her injuries on Tuesday evening (25th February).

Zuzanna's family have now issued a tribute to her saying: "Zuzanna, known by many as Zuzia, was full of life, always happy and smiling.

"She had so many friends and was well liked by many.

"She was kind and always wanted to help others.

"Zuzia leaves behind her mother, father and three older siblings.

"Zuzia had a passion and love for makeup and fashion and took pride in how she looked.

"Zuzia has been taken from us far too soon and we will miss her deeply, she will forever be in our hearts."

Investigating officers are still keen to hear from anyone who witnessed the collision or saw the vehicle being driven prior to the collision.

Anyone who may have recorded the vehicle or what happened on their dashcam is also urged to get in touch with Gloucestershire Police.

Hear all the latest news from across the UK on the hour, every hour, on Greatest Hits Radio on DAB, smartspeaker, at greatesthitsradio.co.uk, and on the Rayo app.