'Part of us died that night': Parents of 'gentle giant' Staffordshire teen killed in crash push for licence changes
The parents of a "gentle giant" teenager killed in a horrifying car crash say they want to make sure no other family suffers the same pain.
Simon Evans, from Perton in South Staffordshire, was just 18 when he died in the crash on Offoxey Road near Shifnal on March 14.
Two other teenagers were also killed in the crash: the driver, 17-year-old Jenson Bridges, from Brewood; and another passenger, Jacob Holman of Tettenhall, who was also 17.
Simon, Jenson, and Jacob had all been wearing seatbelts when the vehicle they were travelling in hit a tree.
A fourth boy survived but was left with life-changing injuries.
An inquest concluded that the crash had been the result of the "naïve actions of a young driver", who was driving at "excessive speeds" in his 1.4l Audi A1 hatchback, having turned off the traction control in the moments before the tragedy.
The force of the crash was so severe that Simon, who was studying at Telford College, died instantly.
Now his parents, Dave and Sue Evans, have spoken about their desire for the Government to consider restrictions on new drivers through what is being called a 'progressive driving licence'.
The desire is for new drivers to be prevented from carrying peer-age passengers for six months, and to be limited by the size of engine their car may have.
Dave and Sue say specifically the limitation on peer-age passengers would have meant their son still being with them today.
The call follows growing pressure on the Government to introduce graduated driving licences, following a series of harrowing tragedies - a plea rejected by the Government earlier this year.
A number of bereaved families, including Dave and Sue, have been working with the charity Road Peace to campaign for change.
Dave and Sue have spoken of the horror of Simon's last moments, describing how the force of the crash ripped the side from the car and threw him into the road, despite the fact he was wearing a seatbelt.
Sue told of being haunted by the circumstances of Simon's death, and committed to stopping any other parents suffering the same pain.
She said: "Our lives have just been ripped apart. Every day it is so hard to get up. The world keeps turning but ours has stopped because Simon died in this horrific way.
"He was on his own. Whether he knew he was going to die we don't know, but because it was so violent - the side of the car was ripped off and he was thrown onto the road he died in the dark on his own, so the thought of him being there with no-one who truly loved him is horrendous."
Dave said: "We all say part of us died that night."
Sue added: "He will forever be 18. His future has been robbed and we mourn the beautiful lad he was and what he would have done. He won't go on a holiday with his friends, he won't be a dad, he won't be an uncle."
Dave said they wanted to do everything in their power to prevent another family being faced with a similar tragedy.
He said: "We cannot wind time back but if we can do something in Simon's name to just make a little bit of a difference - whether that is legislation, whether that is raising awareness, working with other people in the area - it is something we are passionate about because you would not wish this on your worst enemy."
He added: "Because the graduated driving licences are no more we are very keen to push for certain areas of that because it is proven in other areas and other countries that it does reduce deaths and accidents."
Sue said: "The main one is peer-age passengers because if that was in place Simon would not be in that car and we would not be having this conversation."
Dave added: "What we are keen to do is not paint all young drivers as bad: everyone can have a split-second decision which changes their life, it does not mean they are a bad driver. But we are saying give them time to get the experience and take the possible distractions away from them."
Simon was studying to be a car mechanic at the time of his death, and "loved cars" according to his father.
Simon's mum described him as a "gentle giant" and "a lovely young lad who always had a smile on his face".
Dave joked about his son stealing his clothes and shoes because they shared the same size, with the kind-hearted youngster not bothered at his friends' jokes about wearing his dad's Skechers rather than the latest Nike Air trainers.
Sue said: "He had a very close circle of friends and would do anything for them at the drop of a hat. If they needed him he was there. it might take him a while to answer the telephone because he loved his sleep - but he would be there."
"They called him the dad of the group," she added. "With his friends he just shone, he just adored them."
Sue spoke of the impact of the tragedy on Simon's close friends, some of whom were there on the night he died - including one who tried desperately to provide aid to his stricken friend.
She added: "Simon had 10 very close friends and one of their mums said 'he won't get to be the best man' 10 times over - that shows how close they were and what he meant to them."
Both spoke of a young man with a love of the outdoors and trying new things - be it taekwondo, fishing, darts, mountain biking or golf.
Sue said: "He was just lovely, bubbly, loved trying new things and all those things were with his friends."
She added: "I would not want another family to go through the agony we go through every single day, because we could not do anything to save Simon. We hope we can get changes, or if one parent sees the interview that they will have a conversation with the young driver, or if the young driver sees it they will think they could not put their mum and dad through that.
"We will never know if we help save a life but we will know if someone else loses a life."
The Shropshire Star has contacted the Department for Transport (DfT) to ask about its position over the issue: why it rejected calls for graduated driving licences, its position on 'progressive driving licences' and specifically restrictions on peer-age passengers and CC limitations on engine size.
The department was also asked if it was able to provide any information on "other measures" it says it is considering to tackle the issue of road safety for young people.
In response a spokesman said: "Every death on our roads is a tragedy and our thoughts remain with Simon’s family and everyone who has lost a loved one in this way.
"Whilst we are not considering graduated driving licences, we absolutely recognise that young people are disproportionately victims of tragic incidents on our roads and continue to tackle this through our THINK! campaign.
"We are considering other measures to address this problem and protect young drivers, as part of our upcoming strategy for road safety – the first in over a decade."
The DfT added that its Road Safety Strategy will be set out in "due course".
