Mum of teen who drowned in car with friends speaks of her 'absolute fear' on anniversary
by Billy Gaddi, Saskia Rowlands, https://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/authors/william-gaddi/ · Daily RecordGet the latest Daily Record breaking news on WhatsApp
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The mother of a 17-year-old boy who drowned after a horror car crash has told how his pyjama trousers have been at the end of her bed ever since. Harvey Owen died alongside his three friends when their car swerved into a ditch on November 19 last year.
The kind-hearted 17-year-old virtually lived in his pyjamas at home - where he spent time playing the guitar with his little sisters and listening to the Beatles. Mum Crystal's life fell apart when the car carrying the four pals veered into a water-filled ditch in rural North Wales during a camping trip.
All four youngsters drowned, according to an inquiry last month, the Mirror reports However, it also turned out that Harvey, who was seated in the rear of the silver Ford Fiesta, had unplugged his seat belt and wound down his window—a detail that would always haunt Crystal.
She added: “It was my absolute fear throughout all this – I hoped he wasn’t conscious, but he was. I wonder, with every part of me, what he was thinking at the end – was he scared? Was he in pain?
“Did he think of me, his mum, as children often do when they’re in trouble or hurt? I will always live with that. Part of me literally died when Harvey died – I’m in a constant state of yearning to see and hold him again.
“It is an ache that feels like my heart is physically breaking – from the moment I wake up to the moment I close my eyes at night, I feel his absence in every fibre of my being."
In an emotional interview to mark the anniversary on Tuesday, Crystal, 40, spoke about her campaign to protect young drivers and plans for a charity to ensure Harvey's "pure and kind soul" lives on. Harvey's pyjama bottoms are particularly precious to Crystal because they remind her of his last night at home in Shrewsbury, Shrops.
She said: “He’d been trying to bulk himself up at the gym so I’d gone and bought him a load of protein yogurts. He came into the kitchen in his pyjamas, put his arm around me and said: "Thanks mum, it is appreciated. I can still feel his curly hair on my face and the strong arms that embraced me - I remember thinking, where has my little boy gone?”
Crystal was unaware that this would be her final time with her son, who aspired to start his own Italian bakery. He died less than 48 hours later, along with his college pals Hugo Morris, 18, Wilf Fitchett, 17, and Jevon Hirst, 16, laying undiscovered for two days.
Crystal said the terror of not being able to get hold of them was "indescribable." She said: "The police had told us not to go to Snowdonia to join the search - they said they needed us at home, near the phone.
"On the first night, I followed that advice, but after that I couldn't. Me and my partner Pete headed to Snowdonia at around 6am - I was hysterical, we were running up to random walkers, saying 'have you seen our boy?' and showing them photos."
Recalling the moment she learned they had died, she said: “They called to say a vehicle had been found - but gave no further information. 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."
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Crystal had been sent a video message that promised her that the boys would be secure while staying at a friend's grandfather's house. She was unaware that her son was going camping and that his friend Hugo, who had just passed his driving test six months prior, was the driver. She is troubled by the fact that she didn't verify who was driving with the other parents before letting Harvey go.
She said: "Hugo was a new friend from college, I didn't know he even existed and had no clue Harvey had any friends who could drive. I was told they were staying with a friend’s granddad for two nights and the friend's dad would be driving.
“I’ll always kick myself - because it’s the one time I haven’t called around to make sure - but he hadn’t given me any reason to doubt his story and I didn't want to embarrass him."
Crystal says the final message from Harvey plays on a loop in her mind - because the crash happened in Garreg, Gwynedd, just an hour later.
"He sent a photo of the view from the grandad's house so his story seemed to add up - but my reply - a funny video of his baby sister - was never opened. I tried ringing and kept texting asking him to ring me but nothing was sending. I kept thinking, Harvey would know I'd be worrying - so in my gut I knew it was bad."
Last month, the senior coroner declared that the accident might have been avoided and that one of the main contributing factors was a lack of driver experience. The inquest heard Hugo likely lost control when he approached a bend "a little bit too quickly and understeered."
Crystal is now campaigning for a change in the law to see the introduction of so-called graduated licences - where new drivers are restricted both in the speed they can drive at and in the number of passengers they can carry. SHe met with transport secretary Louise Haigh and received a letter from Keir Starmer assuring her ministers would look into young driver risk, especially on rural roads.
She said: “I’m feeling optimistic about the new government and their help so far but I don’t want it to just be empty promises. At 17 and 18 they are still kids - they can have hundreds of lessons, but as soon as they're plonked in a car with their mates it’s a different story. They're not allowed to buy alcohol at 17 yet they can be in charge of a lethal weapon - it's madness."
Crystal has also launched a charity, Shine On With Harvey Owen, to fund music and other creative lessons for disadvantaged children. She added: "For me now, the meaning of life has got to be leaving the world a better place than you came into it - because that's what Harvey did."
To support the campaign visit www.change.org/p/safer-driving-licensing-for-newly-qualified-17-19-year-olds.
For details on the charity visit www.justgiving.com/crowdfunding/Harvey-HelpingOthers.
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