The Courier & Advertiser (Fife Edition)
Tragic mum’s plea to cut
THE MOTHER of a Fife teenager killed in a road smash made an appeal to inexperienced drivers after revealing her son had been afraid to take his driving test because he had dyslexia.
Nineteen- year- old Jamie Ewens, from Kirkcaldy, was killed last summer when his car hit a railway bridge in Lochgelly.
Yesterday Jamie’s mother Sonia (39) took the brave decision to launch Fife Constabulary’s latest road safety campaign, which is specifically targeted at young drivers.
Fighting back tears at the launch of the campaign in Fife Constabulary headquarters, Glenrothes, she said: “The message I am trying to put across to young ones is the consequences of their actions and the decisions that they make in their life could possibly prevent another family from going through what we are going through.
“Jamie lost his life at an extremely young age, he had his whole life ahead of him but he is not here anymore, he is not the one that has to deal with this.
“Please just think about what you are doing on the roads and be safe, don’t make any drastic actions.”
The Ewens family’s life was turned upside down when Jamie was killed on July 30 last year.
He had been driving his orange Citroen Saxo on Station Road when the vehicle left the road and smashed into railings under the bridge beside Lochgelly railway station.
He was not wearing a seatbelt and died at the scene after being thrown from the vehicle.
His 18-year-old girl friend, Emma Murray, who he’d known for a week, was a passenger in the car. She suffered relatively minor injuries.
Yesterday Mrs Ewens, who was joined by Jamie’s gran Nancy, explained the terrible impact Jamie’s death has had on her family and why she wants no one else to have to go through what they have suffered.
She said: “Jamie was a fun loving laddie who lived life to the max. He worked hard in roads maintenance. He loved the outdoors.
“He was a grafter. He made a few mistakes in his life. He wasn’t perfect. He didn’t see the bigger picture. He was more of a motorbike fanatic.
“But when the crash happened he didn’t have a licence and the car he was driving wasn’t insured. He was desperate to drive but was afraid to sit his test because he was dyslexic. He was worried about the theory test. I told him he’d be ok because the test was touch screen and that he needed a licence to drive a car or he’d get himself killed. I tried desperately to get the message across to him that he needed to be safe before he drove.
“But he wouldn’t listen. He was desperate to drive because his friends were driving.”
Mrs Ewens was five months pregnant with Archie (now six months old) when she got the news that Jamie wouldn’t be coming home.
She “crumpled” when she heard the news and is now on anti-depressants.
She explained that the aftermath of the crash had affected the whole family, including Jamie’s grandparents.
Jamie’s eight-year-old brother Jack had also written a moving letter which reads: “Jamie, I remember when you made me laugh. I wish you were still here with me.
“I’ll never forget you Jamie, love you always.”
Jamie’s niece Amber (9) also wrote: “I love you so much Jamie. Why did it have to happen to you?”
Mrs Ewens said she had been motivated to support Fife Constabulary’s road safety campaign to make teenage drivers and families realise that they should “value life” and think about the consequences.
Her story is now central to Fife Constabular y’s latest campaign, which is inviting youngsters to view a powerful interview with Mrs Ewens on digital or social media and asking them to leave their thoughts and comments.
The interview is available on the Fife Constabulary website at:www.fife.police.uk/roadsafety, Comments can be left on the Fife Constabulary Facebook site at: http:// www.facebook.com/pages/fife -Police/102710169765020 or Twitter using the # Fifepoliceroads