Mother campaigns for water-escape technology after son's death

Summarised from 2 outlets · Updated 9 Oct, 10:24 · Archive

The mother of a teenager killed in a car that landed in a water-filled ditch is working with Loughborough University to develop life-saving technology.

Crystal Owen's 17-year-old son Harvey was killed when a car being driven by his friend lost control and landed in a water-filled ditch in Gwynedd in November 2023. Three other teenagers also died in the crash. Since then, Ms Owen, from Shrewsbury, has campaigned for graduated driver licensing for teenagers, including a minimum learning period and restrictions on carrying same-age passengers.

She is now working with Loughborough University's transport safety research centre and fellow campaigner Andy Spavins, who survived an overturned car that filled with water after rolling into a dyke in 2023. They are investigating whether new technology could help people escape vehicles that enter water. One proposal under consideration is the manufacture of car windows that open automatically before a vehicle is fully submerged, giving occupants more time to escape.

Loughborough University's transport safety research centre has agreed to conduct the research over six to eight months, but requires approximately £75,000 in funding. The team hopes to produce a report to present to the UK Government. Ms Owen highlighted the difficulty in understanding the scale of such incidents, noting that Harvey's death was recorded as a road traffic collision despite the crash itself being survivable, and that there is no straightforward national figure for deaths involving both vehicle entrapment and drowning.

How it is being reported

• Mother of teenager who died in North Wales crash explores technology to save livesThe mother of one of four teenagers who died when a car landed in a ditch in Gwynedd is trying to help develop technology to prevent similar fatalities.North Wales Pioneer · 9 Oct, 09:45
• Mum of teen who died in Gwynedd crash wants to help develop 'life-saving technology'The mother of one of four teenagers who died when a car landed in a ditch in Gwynedd is trying to help develop technology to prevent similar fatalities.North Wales Chronicle · 9 Oct, 09:36

In this story: Crystal Owen · Harvey Owen · Andy Spavins · Loughborough University · Gwynedd · Shrewsbury · UK Government

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