MP Julia Buckley reading a statement from Crystal Owen at a Westminster Hall debate on road safety for young drivers

Shropshire Star

Shrewsbury MP Julia Buckley read a statement from Crystal Owen, mother of Harvey Owen, at a debate on road safety for young drivers in Westminster Hall on Tuesday morning.

Transcript

00:00We're going to be hearing lots of suggestions today about all the measures that can help try to prevent these tragedies

00:06because each death is an avoidable tragedy that freezes them in time

00:10forever prevented from growing up to fulfil their full potential

00:14such as Harvey Owen, the son of my constituents, who was killed in a fatal car crash whilst travelling from Shrewsbury

00:21with three other young men, all of whom were killed in the accident

00:25four young lives, taken too soon and leaving their families behind with an unbearable void where their child should be

00:34Crystal Owen, Harvey's mother, has taken that raw pain and channelled her energy into a focus campaign

00:40she's dedicated and selfless in her advocacy of young drivers and their families

00:45it is on behalf of Crystal Owen that I have requested today's debate

00:49she's sitting with us here today surrounded by other families of young people also killed in serious car crashes

00:56and I thank you all for coming today for what cannot be an easy day

00:59we really appreciate your willingness

01:01they have formed a support group called Forget Me Not to campaign together so that nobody else has to suffer as they have

01:08with Crystal's permission I'm now going to read out the story of Harvey Owen written in her words

01:13because nothing I could say could do justice to her personal tragedy

01:19Crystal's story

01:21My kind-hearted son Harvey had just turned 17 in November 2023

01:26a couple of weeks later he asked me if he could go to Wales with two friends he had known since school

01:31it was to be his first weekend away with friends

01:34and as a parent I felt it was time to give him a little freedom

01:37he and his friends planned to stay at one of their granddad's houses

01:40and when I heard this I thought, what harm can come to him?

01:43it was a trusted friend's family in a safe place

01:46it felt like the right thing to do to let him experience a little bit more independence

01:51at this age you need to give them a little freedom right?

01:54so I agreed

01:56after seeing a video of one of the parents confirming where they were staying

01:59I had no reason to doubt Harvey's story about who was driving

02:02we had always known Harvey's friends

02:04our home was often where the boys would gather to play music for many years

02:07as far as we knew he had no friends who had even passed their driving tests

02:11so we felt comfortable with the situation

02:14Harvey seemed so grown up now, mature and responsible

02:17I thought to myself, he was ready for this

02:20before he left Harvey sat in his bedroom playing Ring of Fire on his guitar

02:24knowing I loved this song

02:26I told him how proud I was of him, how talented he was

02:30I gave him a hug telling him I loved him

02:33he jokingly told me to stop being weird and then said he loved me too

02:37and not long after that he left

02:40it was the last time I would ever see my beautiful son

02:45the following morning Harvey sent me a picture message of the view from the cottage

02:49and everything seemed fine

02:51however what I didn't know at the time was that the boys had decided to go on a camping trip

02:55it later transpired that another 18 year old boy Harvey had recently met at college

02:59a newly qualified driver, had also gone

03:02and was actually the one driving

03:04just over an hour later after sending me the text

03:07my son and his three friends were dead

03:11after some of my texts didn't go through I started to get concerned

03:15the next thing I knew we were frantically driving around Snowdonia

03:18having discovered they were missing

03:20our worries soon turned to panic and we made our way to Bangor police station

03:24the feeling of being told they had found four bodies

03:27and they believed one to be my son is indescribable

03:30the pain of that moment felt as much physical as it did mental

03:34it was as if my world had stopped right there

03:37in that instant

03:39a suffocating numbness washed over me and I felt I was being ripped apart from the inside

03:43time felt like it froze like everything around me became a blur

03:47it was as though the world was no longer a place I wanted to be

03:50the life I had known

03:52filled with my son's laughter, his music, his dreams

03:55was ripped away in an instance

03:58it is an unbearable shock and pain

04:01I wanted to die myself just to escape the nightmare I was now living

04:06the thought of facing a world without my son

04:09without his presence was too much to bear

04:11I don't remember much after this moment

04:13my partner said I was howling

04:15saying on repeat it couldn't be Harvey

04:17I knew in that instant I would only exist for the rest of my days

04:22it later emerged that the young driver had lost control of the car

04:25on a bend of a rural road

04:27the vehicle ended up in a water filled ditch

04:29and despite their attempts to escape

04:31all four boys tragically drowned

04:34the news of their deaths was overwhelming

04:37to know that Harvey and his friends had suffered such a tragic end

04:40unable to survive and escape the car

04:43is a pain I cannot put into words

04:46the grief I feel in the wake of this loss is all consuming

04:49the loss of my son has left a permanent aching void in my life

04:53it's something that unless you are unfortunate enough to ever experience yourself

04:57you will never come close to understanding pain

05:01in the months following Harvey's passing I could barely function

05:04only leaving my bed to attend the funeral

05:06the circumstances surrounding his trip have weighed heavily on me

05:09I would never have allowed him to go if I had known the full details

05:12a friend informed me that in some countries

05:15newly qualified drivers are not allowed to take peer-aid passengers for a set period

05:19and are required to gain experience on rural roads first

05:23it seemed like common sense to me and I thought it was a no-brainer

05:26after weeks of research I began my campaign

05:29to make driving safer for young drivers

05:31advocating for change in the light of the shocking statistic

05:34that 76% of fatalities in crashes involving young drivers

05:39are not the driver themselves

05:41anyone could be affected

05:43I've had to publicly share my grief

05:46putting it on display for the media in order to leverage their coverage

05:50and raise awareness about the horrifying statistics

05:53around young drivers' death crashes

05:56all of this while I still haven't had the time or space to process my own pain

06:01in October 2024 at the inquest

06:04we learned that the boys had all been practically unharmed by the crash

06:07they were conscious and tried to escape the car

06:10thanks to the manual back windows Harvey was able to wind his window down

06:14however due to the lack of a simple safety hammer

06:17something that could have shattered the glass in seconds

06:20and cut through seatbelts

06:22precious time was lost

06:24the thought of Harvey and the boys' final moments

06:26will haunt me for the rest of my life

06:29I strongly believe that such a safety tool

06:31should be made mandatory in all cars

06:33while it's difficult to determine how many lives

06:35such devices could save in the long run

06:37in cases like Harvey's

06:39it would have made the difference between life and death

06:43although ultimately I feel it's a reactive solution

06:46to a more deep-rooted problem

06:48if Harvey wasn't able to get in the car

06:50due to safety measures to protect newly qualified drivers and their passengers

06:53he would not need the hammer as the crash would not have taken place

06:57my campaign is not about punishing young people

07:00but about protecting them

07:02implementing these safety measures would help safeguard their lives

07:04by addressing the risks associated with inexperience and impulsivity

07:08allowing them to enjoy their freedom

07:10without facing unnecessary danger

07:13during the course of the inquest

07:15the evidence revealed matters giving rise to concern

07:17which the coroner published

07:19stating that he felt there is a risk that future deaths will occur

07:22unless action is taken

07:24where younger people are carried in motor vehicles

07:26driven by newly qualified and or young drivers

07:29and that preventative action should be taken

07:32after nearly a year of campaigning

07:34I should have felt relief when the coroner issued

07:36this preventing future deaths report

07:38but sadly, as part of the Forget Me Not Families United group

07:42I know that similar recommendations have been made in the past

07:45with no real change

07:47unfortunately, there will never be a victory for families like ours

07:51because our children are gone forever

07:54if people truly understand the depth of our pain

07:57along with the level of commitment we parents put into researching the overwhelming evidence

08:01we might be taken more seriously in our fight for change

08:05I hope this debate forces everyone to confront the scale of the problem

08:09every day without action means more families torn apart

08:12more lives lost

08:14protecting young drivers, their passengers and other road users

08:18should never be a matter of political division

08:20it's a moral issue

08:22the evidence is clear

08:23young people's brains are still developing

08:25making them more prone to risky decisions behind the wheel

08:28protecting young drivers isn't just about statistics

08:31it's about lives lost

08:33thank you Crystal for your story

08:35we really appreciate that

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