Hundred attend funeral of young Llandudno crash victim

Sep 23 2010 by Eva Ketley, North Wales Weekly News

Hundred attend funeral of young crash victim Ryan

HUNDREDS of mourners gathered at Holy Trinity Church in Llandudno yesterday (Wednesday) for the funeral of Ryan Owen who died in a road accident.

Former Ysgol John Bright pupil, Ryan, 17, died on September 11, two days after his car hit a road sign on Conway Road in the resort.

Since then his friends have created a roadside shrine at the spot with dozens of bunches of flowers being placed there.

His parents Llewelyn and Sonia have paid tribute to them. Sonia said: “His friends have been brilliant and their dedication to him has been amazing.

“Girls and boys stayed at the hospital day and night and their care has helped us enormously. It’s been a real comfort to know how much people thought of him. Within 24 hours of his passing there were more than 1,500 tributes.”

Speaking about Ryan’s life, Llew said his son was always entertaining his classmates with witty one-liners and that he loved his football when he played for Llandudno FC, from the under 10s through to the under 15s, which Llew used to manage.

He also loved his motorbike and his car, said Llew: “He had a motorbike at 16 and passed his CBT test with flying colours. He was so clever with computers too and was always there to help anyone with technical problems.” The family said Ryan’s loss in such tragic circumstances was “a waste of a young life” which they hoped other families would never have to go through.

Town councillors have decided to write to the Conwy county Community Safety Partnership and to the county council asking them to look at safety on Conway Road.

In 2006 18-year-old Rhodri Roberts from Old Colwyn died when the car in which he was a passenger crashed at the same spot on a bend near a roundabout.

And residents say that over the years there have been frequent accidents there.

One resident, who asked not to be named, said: “It’s not unusual to see cars turn over onto their roofs. The camber on the bend pushes cars towards the kerb and that seems to be at least part of the problem.”

Llandudno’s deputy mayor Greg Robbins said councillors voted unanimously on Friday to call for an urgent review of safety on that stretch of road. “Although we don’t know the cause of this particular accident the council feels there is a whole spectrum of issues that need to be looked at,” he said.