Mother of camping trip tragedy teen calls for ‘no passengers’ for young drivers
THE mother of one of four teenage boys killed in a camping trip tragedy is calling for stricter laws for young drivers.
Crystal Owen’s son, Harvey, and three friends drowned when their car came off the road into water and overturned in Eryri (Snowdonia).
Crystal now wants a ban on drivers under 25 carrying passengers until a year after passing their test.
Crystal, 39, says her son and his friends could still be alive if the driver had been more experienced.
She told The Mirror: “I’ve cried so many tears my eyes are raw. As a family we will struggle to ever come to terms with this loss, a life so full of promise cut short. I no longer feel I will ever find any contentment or joy in life as there is a huge void that cannot ever be filled.”
Sixth-form student Harvey, 17, was on a weekend getaway with college friends Jevon Hirst, 16, Wilf Fitchett, 17, and Hugo Morris, 18, in November.
After spending a night at a grandparent’s house they set off on a camping adventure, but less than an hour later their Ford Fiesta crashed near Garreg, in Eryri.
Crystal, who lives in the boys’ home town of Shrewsbury, had thought a parent was driving that weekend. Instead, one of the teenagers was driving. Authorities have not publicly identified who was driving.
Crystal said: “It should have been an uneventful Sunday. I had always been a careful parent, instilling an ethos in my children of not engaging in risky behaviours.
“Harvey sent me a picture of the view from his friend’s grandad’s house, and that was the last contact I will ever have with my son.”
Crystal has launched a petition calling on the UK Government to introduce a graduated licensing system. Versions of this are law in the US, Canada, Hong Kong, Australia, New Zealand and South Africa, where it is
reported they have reduced young driver crashes by 30%.
Campaigners in the UK want a similar change here, where 1,500 young drivers are killed or seriously hurt each year and are four times more likely to crash with passengers. Crystal said: “The graduated licensing system could have saved Harvey and his friends and prevented thousands of families from having to suffer this pain.”
She needs 100,000 signatures in less than six months to ensure the topic is debated in parliament. Crystal is being backed by local MP Daniel Kawczynski, who is organising a meeting with the Transport Secretary and other campaigners.
She added: “Harvey was the most kind and charismatic boy and I will not stop campaigning, along with other parents, until the law is changed.”