'It was as if my world had stopped' - MPs hear from mother of Shropshire teen killed in Snowdonia crash

Fourteen months on from the death of four teenagers from Shropshire, Shrewsbury MP Julia Buckley secured a debate on road safety for young drivers in Westminster Hall on Tuesday morning (January 28).

The debate was backed by Crystal Owen, whose 17-year-old son Harvey Owen died along with Hugo Morris, 18, Jevon Hirst, 16 and Wilf Fitchett, 17, in the tragic North Wales crash in November 2023. 

Since her son's death, Crystal has been campaigning for the introduction of graduated driving licences for newly qualified drivers in a bid to help reduce the number of deaths of young people on the country's roads.

On Tuesday, Crystal, along with other bereaved families and members of campaign group Forget-me-not Families Uniting, sat in the public gallery of Westminster Hall to watch the debate.

Opening the debate, Shrewsbury MP Julia Buckley laid bare the grim statistics to the gathered MPs. 

"Road traffic collisions are the biggest killer of young people aged 15 to 29 worldwide," she said. 

 "In 2023, here in the UK, 290 young people were killed as a result of a road collision. Although drivers under 24 only make up six per cent of total licence holders, they make up 18 per cent of all car drivers killed. If there were any other leading cause of death of our young people, we would declare a public health emergency.

"Each of those numbers is a person, a young person with the whole life ahead of them, a son or daughter whose family love and cherish them.

"Each death is an avoidable tragedy that freezes them in time forever, such as Harvey Owen, the son of one of my constituents who was killed in a fatal car crash whilst travelling with three other young men - four young lives taken too soon and leaving their families behind with an unbearable void where their child should be."

Reading from a statement written by Crystal, the MP told the room about "kind-hearted" Harvey, the last moments Crystal had with her son and the tragic events of November 19, 2023.

"It was as if my world had stopped right there in that instant," the MPs were told. 

"A suffocating numbness washed over me and I felt as if I was being ripped apart from the inside. Time felt like it froze, like everything around me became a blur. It felt like the world was no longer a place I wanted to be. 

"The life I had known, filled with my son's laughter, his music, his dreams, was ripped away in an instant.

"It is an unbearable shock and pain, I wanted to die myself just to escape the nightmare I was now living. The thought of facing a world without my son, without his presence, was too much to bear. I knew in that instant I would only exist for the rest of my days."

The room heard that in the weeks following the tragedy, Crystal began weeks of research which taught her about schemes for newly qualified drivers in other countries. 

"I've had to publicly share my grief," Crystal's statement continued, "putting it on display for the media in order to leverage their coverage and raise awareness about the horrifying statistics around young drivers' deaths - all this while I still haven't had the time or space to process my own pain." 

Crystal's statement went on to highlight the need for cars to include a safety hammer that could have been used following the crash to cut seatbelts and smash the glass, potentially saving the lives of the young men. 

The Shrewsbury MP called for more safety measures including mandating the carrying of an emergency glass hammer - called 'Harvey's Hammer' - to be introduced in memory of the young man.

Following the moving opening statement from Crystal and the Shrewsbury MP, the debate heard more than two dozen similar stories of tragic road traffic collisions involving young people told by more than 20 MPs from around the country - some of whom also called for the introduction of a graduated driving licence scheme.

They included Suffolk Coastal MP Jenny Riddell-Carpenter who, thanking the families who were in attendance, said: "You put your grief on the line to share these stories and we're deeply moved by it."

Responding, Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Future of Roads, Lilian Greenwood, said she was "committed to continuing to engage" with bereaved families over the issue.

"I'm sure that many of us remember reading about the deaths of Harvey Owen, Wilf Fitchett, Jevon Hirst and Hugo Morris in November 2023. 

"No one could fail to be moved by hearing that terrible story again today in Crystal's own words. It is literally every parent's worst nightmare. 

"I know that the deaths of these four young men have had devastating impacts, on their own families and their community, as have the deaths of the young people that have been spoken about today.

"I am determined that we take action to prevent such deaths in the future and improving road safety is one of my department's highest priorities. 

"Whilst we are not considering graduated driving licences, we absolutely recognise that young people are disproportionally victims of tragic collisions on our roads, and that is why we are exploring options to tackle the root causes of this without unfairly penalising young drivers.

"It's clear to me that we should consider what more can be done to support learner drivers and newly qualified drivers to be safe."

Regarding the potential introductions of measures to improve vehicle safety - including 'Harvey's Hammer' - the minister said she would take the suggestion back to officials for further consideration.

"In my short time as Future of Roads Minister, I've heard too many heartbreaking accounts of loss and serious injury, we've been very moved to hear stories during this debate and I'd like to thank all those members who have come here today to share them.

"It is vital that we hear the voices of those who've been the most impacted by road deaths and I can assure them that I am listening."

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