'They were so unlucky': Owner of Welsh farm where four teens died in car crash describes 'brutal' weather group faced
23 November 2023, 06:10 | Updated: 23 November 2023, 06:26
The owner of a Welsh farm where four teenage boys died in a car crash has described the bad luck of the group as they got stuck in "brutal" weather conditions.
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Jevon Hirst, Harvey Owen, Wilf Henderson and Hugo Morris were found after they went missing following a camping trip on Sunday.
Their Ford Fiesta left the A4085 in an area between Beddgelert and Llanfrothen, near Garreg, Gwynedd in north-west Wales. The boys' bodies were found inside the car.
Police said on Tuesday afternoon that the deaths appeared to be "a tragic accident" but that they did not know why the car left the road.
Farmer Rhys Williams, who lives at the nearby Garreg Hyll Drem Farm, said the river had "gone high quickly" over the weekend, with the "brutal" conditions going against the group of boys.
Read more: Teens may have been lying dead in overturned car for two days after north Wales crash
"They were so unlucky, the way the car went in. It has gone into the ditch, low into the ditch," Mr Williams told the Mirror.
He continued: "On Sunday the water was high. It is brutal on Sunday. There's always a foot or two of water in the ditch but it can come up to six feet, the level of the car.
"It was bad on Friday and Saturday, the river had gone high quickly. But by Tuesday morning the level had come down. They were so unlucky."
The farmer added: "They must have been going from Harlech north towards Snowdonia. This is one of two roads they could have taken.
"There are no tracks on the road, nothing to be seen. It's a sharp bend, it narrows. There were lots of leaves on that corner."
Mr Williams also revealed that the overturned and partially submerged car was spotted by a binman on Tuesday.
"They were found by the recycling lorry at 10 that morning," he said. "They were higher up, that's why they could see them.
"The binman told us they had phoned the police. It is only 25 metres around the corner from here."
Bodies of four missing teenagers found inside crashed car
It has also emerged that a fifth boy was due to go on the fatal trip but pulled out at the last minute.
A vigil was held for the victims throughout Wednesday at The Trinity Centre in Shrewsbury, allowing people to pay their respects.
Sharing a Facebook post after the incident, Crystal Owen, Harvey's mother, said "nothing will make this nightmare go away".
"I feel like I’m in a nightmare I wish I could wake up from but I’m not," she said.
"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."
