Call To Action Following Teenagers Death

20/12/2011

A grieving mother facing her first Christmas without her teenage son who was killed in a coach crash along with two of his friends as they travelled through Thailand on what should have been the holiday of a lifetime this summer is continuing her battle for answers and justice.

Bruno Melling Firth, Conrad Quashie, and Max Boomgaarden-Cook, all 19 and from London, were killed in June when as they travelled on a coach from Bangkok to Chiang Mai when it collided with a bus in the town of Khlong Khlung. The friends had flown to Thailand for a nine week trip before starting university in September.

Speaking on the day of a remembrance ceremony held by the Thai Embassy in London (Tuesday 20 December), Max’s devastated mum, Polly Cook, says she is ‘desperate to know more’ about the circumstances surrounding the crash.

Lawyers at Irwin Mitchell are helping Polly and the families of the other two boys in their battle for answers and justice. Clive Garner, head of the travel law team at the firm, said: “Almost six months after their sons’ tragic deaths, little is known about the circumstances surrounding this crash.

“We will continue to work with the families to find out exactly what caused the collision and determine if such a terrible loss of life could have been avoided. Our clients are not only committed to understand what went wrong and have justice done in regard to the loss of Bruno, Conrad and Max, they also want to ensure that urgent steps are taken in Thailand to improve road safety for others.”

He continues: “Despite efforts by the Thai Ministry of Transport to bring road safety in line with countries such as the United Kingdom, New Zealand and Australia, we are concerned that the rate of road traffic incidents in Thailand is still far too high.

“Steps must be taken to reduce the number of deaths on Thai roads and we wholeheartedly support Polly in her campaign to both raise awareness and improve road safety in a country that is so popular with young tourists.”

Commenting on her ordeal since losing her son, Polly Cook, from London, said: “We are still desperate to know more about exactly what led to the death of our much loved sons who were snatched from us as they followed their dreams on what should have been the holiday of a lifetime that ended in the most unthinkable and devastating way.

“Whilst we are thankful to the Thai Embassy for the ceremony today to remember the boys and celebrate their lives, we are still desperate to know what went so horribly wrong on the night of their deaths so steps can be taken to make sure nothing like this ever happens again and so their deaths weren’t in vain.”