'HAUNTS ME FOREVER'
Mum relives horror moment she realised son, 17, & three teen friends had drowned in tragic crash on way to camping trip
Crystal is campaigning for stricter laws to protect young drivers
A HEARTBROKEN mum has shared how she relives the horrifying moment she discovered her 17-year-old son and his three teenage friends drowned in a tragic crash on their way to a camping trip.
Crystal Owen lost her son, Harvey, in a horror crash after he lost control of his silver Ford Fiesta while driving with his friends on the A4085 in Garreg, North Wales on November 19 last year.
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The group of Shropshire teenagers had been on a camping trip to Snowdonia when the car plunged into a drainage ditch and overturned.
Crystal recalled the heartbreaking moment she learned her teenage son had tragically died in the crash.
On the day, the 40-year-old mum received a call from an officer asking her and her partner, Pete, to come to the police station.
Upon hearing the tragic news of Harvey's death, Crystal said she turned "grey and white."
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She told the : "The shock was like I was out of my body and it was all happening to somebody else – it felt like everything was in slow motion.
"We were taken into a room and given the news - my hands went grey and white and it felt like they were being stabbed with metal pins.
“Everything was echoey – Pete says I was delirious and constantly screaming "It can’t be him - not my boy."
Harvey had been travelling with his three friends, Hugo Morris, 18, Wilf Fitchett, 17, and Jevon Hirst, 16.
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Hugo - who was driving - had passed his test just six months before the fatal crash, an inquest heard.
It said he had driven the car "in excess" of the speed needed to get around a bend safely.
PROTECT YOUNG DRIVERS
Crash investigator Ian Thompson said he believed the car took the corner at around 38mph rather than the recommended 26mph.
The investigator told the court that the crash "was avoidable" and although it had been raining heavily with leaves covering the road, he did not consider weather as a factor in the horror.
Since losing her son, Crystal campaigned for a change in the law to protect young drivers.
She met with Louise Haigh, the transport secretary, and received a letter from the Prime Minister confirming that ministers would reassess the risks faced by young drivers, particularly on rural roads.
The 40-year-old is calling for graduated licences to be introduced, restricting the number of passengers young drivers can carry and their speed.
Countries such as Canada, Australia, New Zealand, and several US states already enforce this system, reducing driver deaths by a whopping 40 per cent, according to The Mirror.
Cyrstal added that she believes it is not possible to protect teenagers without the backing of the law.
She said: "Their brains are not fully formed, which is why we have other restrictions on things like buying cigarettes.
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"I am certainly not ashamed to say that I didn’t know what he was doing. He gave me a convincing story. It wasn’t a bad lie.
"He just knew I’d worry about him going camping, so he was not telling me to protect me.”
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