Gwynedd crash inquest: Shrewsbury teens drowned in river

Family images Composite of four individual shots, from left to right: Jevon Hirst, 16, sat behind a coffee table, wearing a cream stripped shirt and looking down. Harvey Owen, 17, in a dark crew neck jumper with white polo shirt collar. Wilf Fitchett in a black t-shirt with a pattern on the fron, smiling into the camera. Hugo Morris, 18, in a white t-shirt with the blue straps of a backpack showingFamily images

Jevon Hirst, Harvey Owen, Wilf Fitchett and Hugo Morris were on a camping trip when they were killed in the crash in November 2023

A crash that killed four teenage boys when they drowned in an overturned car could have been avoided, an inquest has heard.

Hugo Morris, 18, Harvey Owen, 17, Wilf Fitchett, 17, and Jevon Hirst, 16, all from Shrewsbury, died when their car left a rural road while they were on a camping trip last November.

It flipped on to its roof in a flooded ditch, leaving the four A-level students trapped.

A conclusion of road traffic collision was recorded by the senior coroner for North West Wales.

The teenagers had been visiting Eryri National Park, also known as Snowdonia, when they set off from Harlech on 19 November to spend the night camping.

But the Ford Fiesta being driven by Hugo left the A4085 road near the villages of Garreg and Llanfrothen.

The crashed car could not be seen from the road and led to a massive two day search to find the boys.

The inquest was told that a passing refuse recycling truck spotted the upturned car while on its round on the Tuesday morning.

All four students were found dead in the car.

The inquest was told that post-mortem examinations revealed none of them had any internal or external injuries, and had died as a result of drowning.

Giving evidence to the hearing, crash investigators for North Wales Police said there were “no catastrophic mechanical failures” with the car.

However, both rear tyres were only half the required inflated pressure for carrying four people.

Mr Thompson said, in his view, Hugo had driven into a bend on the road too fast, causing the vehicle to come off the road.

He said he calculated the maximum theoretical speed around the bend was 38mph.

But he added: “Having driven the bend myself the fastest speed I felt comfortable negotiating the bend was 26mph.”

He said the Ford Fiesta had entered that bend at a speed that was in excess of the limit to negotiate it, even though that may well have been below the road’s 60mph limit.

Mr Thompson said the actions of Hugo Morris needed to be considered in the accident.

While it had been raining heavily, with leaf cover on the road, the investigator said he did not consider weather conditions played a role in the collision.

But he said in his view, the crash “was avoidable”.

Delivering her conclusion, senior coroner Kate Robertson noted that there had been inadequate signage on the approach to the bend.

She said she will also be writing to Cyngor Gwynedd and the landowner by the crash site about the need for fencing or barriers at the location.

The coroner will also write to the UK government, raising her own concerns over newly qualified drivers being able to carry passengers.

“Having considered and heard the evidence I do have a concern,” she said.

Tributes were read out to all the boys by the coroner.

Harvey’s mother Crystal said he was “perfect from the minute he came into the world and continued to be until he was tragically taken from us”.

“Harvey had the biggest, warmest smile that radiated love and calmness and a contagious positive energy,” she said.

Family image Harvey Owen, wearing a dark blue beretFamily image

Harvey Owen “always had a soft spot for people who he knew were struggling to fit in or felt they were having a bad time,” said his mother Crystal

She said “every parent’s worst nightmare came true” last November and Harvey’s family now faced “a lifetime of grieving the life he should be living, the time we should have had with him and the memories we should be creating”.

Map showing the location of where the car was found, with Porthmadog, Shrewsbury pinpointed, along with the national park area marked in red

Heather Sanderson, Wilf’s mother, said she was “very proud” of her son, who was “so kind and had a lovely sense of humour”.

“I will miss him for the rest of my life.”

Road side where the car crashed, with flowers on a tree, and a line of cones on the road edge

The car carrying the four teens came off the A4085

In a statement the mother of Jevon said he was “happiest when he was at home with his family”.

“He was really close to his family and was loved,” said Melanie Hirst.

The parents of Hugo said their son had a “thirst for life”.

“No words can express our loss,” said Dominic and Sarah Morris.

“Our world is shattered, bent and cracked. He is impossible to forget.”

Harvey’s mother, Ms Owen, said the death of her son and his friends has led to her launching a campaign to change the law for younger drivers.

She has started an online petition calling for the introduction of a graduated driving licence.

It would require new learners to have at least six months training before being able to apply for a test.

It would also ban newly-qualified drivers from carrying passengers under the age of 25 for the first six months, without an older adult present

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