Coedely crash victim’s sister describes driving as ‘too daunting’

The sister of a teenager who died in a car crash is scared to learn to drive because of what happened.

Callum Griffiths, 19, from Porth was killed in a crash in Coedely, Rhondda Cynon Taf, last December, alongside friends, Morgan Smith, 18 and Jesse Owen, 18.

Erin Griffiths, 16, can get her provisional licence next year but said she already has anxiety and is planning to put off lessons.

“Since Callum, it is a lot more daunting to think about my friends in a car or me in a car. It’s really scary. You never know what can happen to you,” she said.

Callum’s smiling face on the wall is the first thing you see when you walk into the living room of his family home.

As the anniversary of his death approaches, this is clearly a family still trying to work out how to live their lives without him.

“It just gets harder,” says mum Natalie.

“Because the reality of having to get up every day and live without Callum has really set in.

“How do we get up every day knowing our son isn’t here?”

The night of the crash is still vivid in Natalie’s mind.

There are memories of the family driving the 15-minute journey to the scene, after receiving a phone call from a friend who lived nearby.

“She told me the car was in half and I just remember praying, all the way to Coedely,” she said.

“Just praying ‘let Callum be OK – just let him be OK’.”

Although they were told at the scene Callum had died, Natalie said she did not take it in until later.

“Our world just crumbled,” she said.

“I do feel when we lost Callum we lost a part of ourselves – I am not the person I used to be, my husband is not the same person.

“There is a huge void that will never, ever be filled.”

Last month, an inquest into the three teenagers’ deaths found that the car lost control and hit a bus after travelling at around 50mph (80km/h) into a bend.

The family have not yet decided how they will mark the anniversary, but held a party for Callum, who would have turned 20 on 2 November.

Siblings Erin and Callum were very close, with Erin calling him her “best friend and biggest protector”.

The 16-year-old, just 15 when her brother died, said the party has been an important focus and, she admits, a distraction.

“Instead of thinking that Callum is not here for his birthday, we have this big celebration,” she said.

Another focus for Natalie has been as a member of a group of grieving families, called Forget Me Not Families Uniting.

They are campaigning for changes to the law on new drivers.

A graduated driver’s licence could see a limit on the number of passengers young people are allowed to carry, which is a “no brainer”, Natalie believes.

But last month, the UK government appeared to rule this out, saying it was not considering any changes.

That is despite a petition set up by another mother whose son died in Wales, reaching around 25,000 signatures.

“It’s very frustrating,” said Natalie.

“And more so knowing I have got a child who is coming up to driving age, who is now put off from wanting to learn to drive because she is so aware of the dangers.”

Erin said her friends support the proposed changes and she hopes the tragic circumstances of her brother’s death will make people drive more cautiously.

“We never expected this to happen to Callum, you never know who it is going to happen to – it is always playing on my mind,” she said.

To those who say any changes could impinge the freedoms of young people, Natalie has a simple and direct answer.

She said: “The biggest limit of all has been placed on Callum because he has no life to live any longer.

“The greatest legacy we can leave for Callum is to try and make some change. “