Teenager who pulled out of Snowdonia trip among those mourning crash victims
In Shrewsbury on Wednesday, the streets were quieter than normal and the annual Christmas lights switching on ceremony had been cancelled.
The deaths of Jevon Hirst, 16, Harvey Owen, 17, Wilf Fitchett, 17 and Hugo Morris, 18, in a crash on a narrow road in Snowdonia were grieved by everyone, from shopkeepers, to teachers, to parents.
Among those who felt the tragedy most keenly was one boy who was supposed to have accompanied them on their fatal camping trip to north Wales.
Mr Morris’s 19-year-old best friend decided at the last minute not to join his friends on the camping trip, explained one visitor who came to pay her respects.
Mimi Ropotka, 35, who worked with Mr Morris at Pret A Manger in Shrewsbury town centre, described how the coffee shop barista “loved the job” and “picked it up quickly”.
“We are devastated by Hugo’s death. He was just an amazing person,” she said at Shrewsbury Abbey, where she had come to pay her respects on Wednesday afternoon.
Mr Morris’s best friend ultimately pulled out of the camping trip after deciding he would go on a different one instead, Ms Ropotka said.
“He can’t believe he has lost his friend so suddenly and tragically,” she said, adding that the teenager was in a “really bad way”.
“We have closed the shop today out of respect,” she said.
Several churches – including the town’s 14th-century abbey – welcomed the young and old to their doors on Wednesday, with locals carrying flowers and lighting candles to pay their respects.
“We opened a little early, at 8.50am, and we’ve had roughly 50 people an hour since then. It hasn’t really stopped,” said Steve Swinden, the abbey’s parish administrator.
“Seeing all of these young lads carrying these big bunches of flowers, laying them on the floor and lighting a candle – it’s quite moving actually.”
He added: “It’s similar to when the Queen died. They come in silence and nobody says anything – nobody needs to say anything, they know why they are here and this is the least we can do.”
‘Poised for a good life’
Mr Owen’s place of work – Dough and Oil – was also closed yesterday.
The young man had joined the restaurant as a pot washer two years ago, before moving to the front of house and, more recently, into the kitchen.
“He gave it his all, developing a passion for dough and had dreams of one day opening his own bakery,” a spokesman for the town centre establishment said.
Chef Richard Conway, who came to pay his respects to his colleague, spoke of Mr Owen’s love of literature and music. “I know that he had a lot of potential and that’s the hardest thing,” he told The Telegraph.
“He was already well ahead of his years and was well poised for a good life.”
Mr Conway described how he spent “all day on Monday” forensically analysing the news and found it “almost impossible to process” that his friend had died after police confirmed four bodies had been found.
“I think I’m still coming to terms with it now,” he said.
Teenagers also came from one of the Shrewsbury Colleges Group campuses – just minutes away from the abbey itself.
It is the third time in less than two months the young cohort have lost a peer and friend.
Alfie McCormick, an 18-year-old A Level student at English and Welsh Bridge, tragically took his own life in late September.
Just days later Ben Worrall, a 17-year-old apprentice bricklayer, was killed in a motorbike crash.
A card left on the altar, among dozens of lit candles and fresh floral tributes, appeared to be written by a teacher of Jevon Hirst – the youngest victim.
“You’ll always have muddy knees and wild hair to me,” it read. “Thank you for being a true free spirit and a beautiful soul.”
Many of the teenagers’ young friends were too distraught to speak.
Undisputed sadness
Students also laid flowers at the English Bridge campus, while messages of “love you” and “rest in peace” were written on the stone stairs.
Molly Clarkson said she knew all the boys, and first met Jevon at primary school.
“Wilf sits in my English class and today the teacher was crying,” she told the BBC. “There is an undisputed sadness. They were all best friends.”
Rev Charlotte Gompertz, vicar at Oxon Parish Church, who knows some of the boys’ families, explained how she had prayed for them to be found just hours before police confirmed the bodies had been discovered.
Her church was also welcoming members of the community on Wednesday.
She said: “It is just devastating. As a vicar, this is just not anything you ever want to do.
“On Monday night, we had about 30 people or so, including lots of young people and fellow pupils of the boys, some came with their mums.
“Shrewsbury is a small enough place that everyone knows somebody who knows somebody who knows those boys.”
“I am a parent, but even for anyone who doesn’t have children, it’s just utterly tragic.”
