A heartbroken mum has said she feels like she’s ‘in a nightmare’ after her son was killed in a crash in North Wales.
Crystal Owen’s son Harvey, 17, was one of four teenage boys found dead inside a car on Tuesday two days after they were reported missing.
The group of lads, who were travelling together for a camping trip, were last seen on Sunday morning and none of them made contact with relatives or had been active on their phones since then.
After a huge search operation, their bodies were recovered from a silver Ford Fiesta which had overturned and been partially submerged in water off the A4085 between Garreg and Pont Aberglaslyn.
Harvey Owen’s friends Jevon Hirst, Wilf Fitchett, and Hugo Morris also died in what police described as a ‘tragic accident’.
And now Harvey’s mum has issued a gut-wrenching message in the wake of his death.
‘I feel like I’m in a nightmare I wish I could wake up from but I’m not,’ she wrote on her Facebook business page Crystal’s Cupcakes.
‘I just wanted to say I do appreciate people’s kindness but no amount of messages is going to help me overcome this.
‘Nothing will make this nightmare go away.’
She added that she could not afford to close her shop in Shrewsbury and will pass over the running of the business to her partner.
‘I haven’t had the time to even organise closure so it’s easier mentally to just switch off and leave it open as usual,’ she said.
‘I cannot cope with dealing with anything related so will be leaving the shop in the good hands of my partner and team for the time being.’
Tributes have been pouring in for the teenagers and Shrewsbury College, where they were all sitting their A-levels, sent its ‘deepest condolences’ to their family and friends.
A statement from the college said: ‘This news is truly heartbreaking, and our thoughts go out to those affected by this tragic news.
‘We would like to thank the emergency services and local mountain rescue teams, as well as members of the public for their assistance in helping with the search and helping to locate the vehicle.
‘We will be working directly with students and staff who are affected by this terrible accident and have put in place a range of support measures for all of our community.’
Wilf Fitchett’s girlfriend Maddi Corfield described him as the ‘most sweet, loving boy’.
‘I love you so much, I’m going to miss you forever,’ she said.
‘The sweetest and most loving boy I’ve ever known. I hope you know how much I love you, gorgeous.
‘Thank you for all the time you’ve spent with me… thank you for loving me endlessly. I promise I’ll do the same for you, my sweet, sweet angel.’
She added: ‘I can’t imagine my world without you. I’m missing you so much already, but I am going to enjoy life the way you would’ve wanted, the way that you made me feel.’
One of Hugo Morris’s friends Beth Head described the 18-year-old as ‘a lovely and funny young lad’ who will be ‘missed deeply’.
‘I will forever cherish all the memories and laughs we had at work together,’ she said.
‘My thoughts go to his family at this time.’
Superintendent Owain Llewellyn said on Tuesday: ‘At present, this appears to have been a tragic accident, and our thoughts are with the family and friends of the four young men at this very difficult time.
‘This has been an extensive search involving a number of different agencies and volunteers, and this is sadly not the outcome that any of us would have wanted.
‘We would ask that the family be afforded the appropriate privacy and respect.’
Investigations are ongoing to establish the circumstances that led to the car leaving the road.
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