Grieving mother of Snowdonia crash victim breaks down after coroner says newly qualified drivers should be BANNED from offering lifts following tragedy that killed four teenagers
- Hugo Morris died alongside Jevon Hirst, Harvey Owen and Wilf Fitchett
A grieving mother of a Snowdonia crash victim has released an emotional plea to the government amid calls from the coroner for rules regarding newly qualified drivers offering lifts to be tightened.
Hugo Morris, 18 had passed his six months earlier before he and his friends - Harvey Owen, Wilfred Fitchett, both 17 and Jevon Hirst, 16, - drowned on a weekend trip when his car crashed off a winding mountain road.
The four teenagers, all pupils at Shrewsbury College, were reported missing after their families failed to hear from them during the 80-mile camping trip away in North Wales.
The teenagers were eventually found dead two days after the alarm was raised after their vehicle left the road and was found on its roof in the water-filled ditch.
An inquest heard Hugo approached an ‘inadequately-signed’ 90 degree corner too fast, under-steered and lost control during heavy rain.
An emotional Crystal Owen, mother of Harvey Owen, makes a statement to the media following the conclusion of the inquest
Hugo Morris (left) and Jevon Hirst (right) were killed when the car they were travelling in came off of the road sometime between November 19 and 21 last year
Schoolboys Wilf Fitchett (left) and Harvey Owen (right) were also killed in the tragedy
Post-mortem examinations found all four teenagers, from Shrewsbury, were unhurt by the collision but, trapped upside down in water 1.2 metres deep, died of drowning soon after the accident at 11.40am on November 19 last year.
Concluding the inquest in Caernarfon, Coroner Kate Robertson gave a conclusion of death by road traffic collision – but she went on to highlight the risks posed by young drivers giving lifts to friends.
Ms Robertson said: ‘I do have a concern that deaths will occur and continue into the future where young or newly-qualified drivers are permitted to carry passengers.
‘I will be issuing a Prevention of Future Deaths report to the Department for Transport.’
Ms Robertson said she could not make recommendations about what changes should be made but will give them 56 days to respond.
Speaking afterwards, Harvey Owen’s mother Crystal said: ‘I am very happy with the outcome, however the government needs to act on this. These deaths are preventable.’
Ms Owen, who is also the mother of three daughters, added: ‘It will give me assurance my girls will be at less risk and save other people from having to live with this pain.’
Since the tragedy, she has devoted herself to campaigning on road safety, saying her son – a part-time pizza chef who had ‘the biggest smile and contagious positive energy’ - was ‘let down by an outdated driving licence system’.
Ms Owen added: ‘I was not able to protect my son and, as a mother, that’s a most painful thing to deal with.
‘Almost 5,000 people each year are affected by death or serious injury as a result of young drivers. If this was knife crime[2], there would be an outcry.’
‘I am very happy with the outcome, however the government needs to act on this. These deaths are preventable,' an emotional Crystal Owen said following the inquest
Following the tragedy, the grieving mother has devoted her time to campaigning for road safety saying that her son, who had 'the biggest smile' was ‘let down by an outdated driving licence system’
North Wales Police said the bodies were found inside the car which left the A4085 at Garreg
She is part of Forget-me-not Families Uniting, a group backing a private members bill by Labour[3] MP, Kim Leadbeater, proposing restrictions on new drivers for six months such as a zero-alcohol limit and limiting the number of passengers.
In a second recommendation, the coroner is urging Gwynedd Council and the landowner to rectify the lack of fencing or a crash barrier to prevent vehicles coming off the A4085 road into the ditch at Llanfrothen, Snowdonia.
‘I’m concerned there’s a risk of death or deaths may occur,’ she added.
Ms Robertson added the single warning triangle at the time of the crash ‘wouldn’t have given adequate warning of the upcoming bend’.
Gwynedd Council said improvements now include large chevron signs, rumble strips and ‘slow’ markings on the 60mph road.
It comes as a collision investigator said that although all the boys were wearing seatbelts the car's two rear tyres were underinflated.
Ian Thompson, a North Wales Police forensic collision investigator said there was an 'understeer' as the car rounded the bend on the 60mph road.
Hugo's Fiesta entered the bend at about 25mph on the road over the river after heavy rain.
Mr Thompson said the fastest speed to negotiate the bend safely would be about 26mph.
He said the driving of Hugo Morris was 'significant' in the circumstances of the accident and the accident was 'avoidable'.
Crystal Owen, the mother of Harvey Owen, arriving for the inquest into the deaths of the four boys on October 16
Police cordon off an entrance to the A4085 road in Garregg, Gwynedd on Tuesday November 21
A CCTV image of the Ford Fiesta carrying the four boys being driven in Harlech, North Wales, before they went missing
Mr Thompson said Mr Morris had been a 'relatively new' driver having passed his test six months and 16 days before the accident.
He found from Natural Resources Wales that water in the nearby river had therefore risen by about one metre, which is symptomatic of the water in the ditch.
He said the upside down Ford Fiesta would have been 'fully submerged' in water. The rainy weather and road markings play no part in the cause.
He also found under-inflated rear tyres on Hugo’s Ford Fiesta were unlikely to have contributed to loss of control.
Mr Thompson was challenged by Jason Wells, barrister for Hugo Morris’s parents Sarah and Dominic Morris, who said: ‘On a wet road with leaves, breaking distances are increased, particularly on a bend.’
Heather Sanderson, the mother of Wilfred Fitchett, highlighted the lack of a fence to stop cars plunging into the ditch.
Mrs Sanderson said: ‘It’s not beyond the realms of possibility this could happen again. A fence should be there to protect against the hazard.’
Ms Robertson said traces of alcohol and cannabis in Hugo’s system were too low to have affected his ‘cognitive’ ability.
He said there were two 'rolling tyre marks' on a 60 degree slope, down off the road.
A huge search had been sparked before the Ford Fiesta they had been travelling in was spotted by a passing recycling lorry.
Passenger Sion Griffiths spotted the vehicle and dialled 999 after checking a police appeal for information on Facebook.
The car said the car was 'partially submerged in water' having flipped on its roof and was hard to see from the nearby road.
The four had gone 80 miles from home for a night of adventure away in Snowdonia, North Wales, when their car flipped off the road and was found on its roof.
They had stayed with Jevon Hirst's grandfather in Harlech, Gwynedd, and enjoyed breakfast together before setting off in the car.
But police and rescue teams had been searching a huge area of land made more difficult by the treacherous mountainous landscape around Snowdonia.
Traces of cannabis were found in the blood of driver Hugo Morris, 18, but the hearing was told it would have had no effect on his cognition.
A Snapchat video posted by Wilf before the crash showed all boys were wearing seatbelts with Hugo driving, Jevon the front seat passenger, Harvey behind Hugo and Wilf behind Jevon.
Post mortem examinations on all four boys were carried out and ruled their medical causes of death was drowning.
The alarm was raised on the Sunday afternoon when the boys' families failed to hear from them - and a huge search involving police, Coastguard and mountain rescue teams was launched.
The silver Ford Fiesta was discovered in the village of Garreg, near Porthmadog, around 80 miles from their homes in Shrewsbury, Shrops.
In a tribute, Hugo's family said he was 'a giver of warmth, joy and mirth.'
They added: 'He rarely criticised others and loved he could sense people's emotions and connect with these. He had fallen in love with North Wales. His mum helped him pack the car.
'He was happy and looking forward to the weekend. The world is shattered, bent and crooked now.'
Melanie Hirst, mother of 16-year-old Jevon, said: 'Jevon liked to socialise with his friends. He was a very loving son. He loved the outdoors and going walking. He was very close to his grandfather and loved to visit him in Harlech.'
Harvey's family said: 'Harvey was charismatic and carefree. He had everything to live for. He was a trendsetter, unique and an old soul. He was wise beyond his years. He was a chef at a local pizzeria.'
And Wilf's mother Heather Sanderson told the hearing in a statement: 'The boys stayed in Harlech with Jevon's grandad. He messaged me to say he had enjoyed a full English breakfast.
'He was such good company with a sense of humour. We were blessed to have him in our lives for 17 years. We are proud to be his family.'
Flowers, photos and emotional tributes left at the Garreg village war memorial for the boys
Pictures of the four teenagers are surrounded by candles at Shrewsbury Abbey on Wednesday
Mrs Sanderson told the coroner she would still have allowed her son to go to on the trip again.
She told the coroner: 'As a family we are heartbroken at losing Wilf but we are also heartbroken about how difficult it has been for the other parents - particularly for the parents of the driver (Hugo Morris).
'We gave Wilf permission to go because we believed that the driver had passed his driving test - which he had. We had done our research and we would make the same decision again.'
Senior coroner Kate Robertson said Hugo lost control and travelled down a steep embankment into a ditch. All four men would have died 'very soon' by drowning.
It had been raining heavily. The water in the ditch had risen by 'almost a metre' and the vehicle was 'submerged'.
She said had been an unsighted bend with no 'Slow' sign. There was a right hand bend sign but no chevron board warning - but the coroner said this 'did not provide adequate warning of the bend', says the coroner.
The coroner found 'the use of cannabis is unlikely to have affected the cognitive function' of driver Hugo Morris.
She found all four young men died by drowning and recorded a conclusion that the cause of the deaths was a road traffic accident at the Caernarfon inquest.
Tributes were left on the steps of Shrewsbury College in Shropshire where all four boys had been students
A printed tribute to the four boys, left on the steps of the Shrewsbury War Memorial after they were identified and named by police
Friends of the youngsters set up a JustGiving page for public donations, which will be given to the families of the teens to assist them with the unexpected sudden costs of their funerals.
The page was set up by Hugo's friend Matt Richards and his sister Sophie with a target of £4,000. It raised over £32,000.
Mr Richards, 18, told Sky News: '(Hugo) was in my circle of friends throughout and was always there for me.
'To be having a funeral for your child is horrible but having to find the money for it is even worse because I can imagine they're not cheap.
'Honestly, I didn't even expect to hit 4,000. We aimed for that for it to be split 1,000 each but we have absolutely smashed that and I'm so happy with how it's gone.'
In the days after the tragedy, the boys' families and friends described how they are 'living a nightmare' and were 'absolutely heartbroken'.
Writing on social media, Harvey's mother Crystal Owen thanked well-wishers for their support but said: 'I feel like I'm in a nightmare I wish I could wake up from but I'm not.
'I just wanted to say I appreciate people's kindness but no amount of messages is going to help me overcome this. Nothing will make this nightmare go away.'
She told the BBC she had no idea her son was going camping. She said her son had last used his phone around midday on the Sunday in nearby Porthmadog.
'If I had known I wouldn't have left him due to the winter weather conditions,' the cake shop owner said.
Ms Owen said news of the boys' deaths left her in 'absolute disbelief', unable to get out of bed for weeks. She added: 'My passion from my business has now gone completely'.
'You do everything for your kids and to make a better life for them, and then to think that it can all just disappear in the blink of an eye.'
Since the tragedy, Ms Owen has joined campaigners calling for restrictions on newly-qualified drivers, including on giving lifts to friends, while they build up experience. The policy already exists in countries such as Canada, Australia and New Zealand.
Speaking earlier this month, she said: 'When I looked at the actual figures, and how effective it has been in every single country it's been implemented, I was so angry we still don't have it here, despite years of discussions.
'I think it's a no-brainer, it would have saved Harvey's life and it would have saved so many others.'
Batley and Spen Labour MP, Kim Leadbeater, introduced a new bill into parliament last week proposing restrictions on new drivers for six months, including a zero-alcohol limit, restrictions on night-time driving and the number of passengers they could carry.
Ms Owen added: 'Seven out of 10 crashes involving young drivers are on rural roads. In Harvey's case, it was a wet rural road and they were on a bend. The speed limit was 60mph but only an experienced driver would know you can't actually do that.
'The anger isn't at the driver, he was a young lad, it could have just as easily been Harvey.
'I understand young people's rights are important. They say it's an impingement on their freedom, yet what bigger impingement on their freedom is their loss of life?'
'Of course it's not going to stop 100% of these crashes. But most of them are not caused from people being deliberately stupid, they are caused by inexperience. It would remind young people they need to take extra precautions.
'Even if this law gets passed, it's never going to bring Harvey back. But I know I can't sit back when there's such an easy solution to stop so many of these deaths.'
The mother, who has started a petition, is campaigning in support of Ms Leadbeater's bill alongside about 90 other families.
The group, called Forget-me-not Families Uniting, are also supported by motoring organisations and road safety charities including the RAC, AA, Road Peace and Brake.
The bill would include exemptions for work, medical and emergency reasons.
In further tributes after the tragedy, staff at the Dough and Oil restaurant, where Harvey worked, described him as 'easy-going, warm, funny, gentle, bright, hardworking and humble'.
Maddi Corfield, Wilf's girlfriend, posted a tribute online, saying: 'I love you so much, I'm going to miss you forever. The sweetest and most loving boy I've ever known. I hope you know how much I love you gorgeous.
'Thank you for all the time you've spent with me... thank you for loving me endlessly, I promise I'll do the same for you my sweet, sweet angel. I can't imagine my world without you. I'm missing you so much already but I am going to enjoy life the way you would've wanted, the way that you made me feel.'
Her mother, Lisa Corfield, 37, added on Facebook: 'I am absolutely heartbroken for Maddi and all of the families involved.
'Wilf was such a lovely kind lad and treated Maddi in a way only a mother could hope her daughter be treated.'
In a statement released just after the tragedy, Shrewsbury Colleges Group said: 'We would like to offer our deepest condolences to the family and friends of the four young men who tragically died in the suspected traffic accident.
'This news is truly heartbreaking, and our thoughts go out to those affected by this tragic news.
'We would like to thank the emergency services and local mountain rescue teams, as well as members of the public for their assistance in helping with the search and helping to locate the vehicle.
'We will be working directly with students and staff who are affected by this terrible accident and have put in place a range of support measures for all of our community.'
Then Prime Minister Rishi Sunak sent his condolences to the families, telling the Commons: 'I know the thoughts of the whole House will be with the family and friends of the four teenagers who died in a car accident in North Wales.'
The inquest opened with a brief, four-minute hearing on November 29 and no family members were present.
Kate Robertson, HM Coroner for North West Wales, stated the provisional cause as drowning before adjourning the hearing.
She said: 'The four young men were travelling in a vehicle along the A4085 at Llanfrothen when the vehicle has left the road. The circumstances of which resulted in the deaths of all four occupants.
'Post-mortem examinations have been undertaken and the provisional causes of death provided, pending inquests.
'I offer the families my sincerest condolences.
The inquest, at Caernarfon Coroner's Court, continues.