Mother in 'living hell' after death of son in Ramsgate car crash

  • WATCH: A special report on the tactics the police are using to try to reduce road deaths

The mother of a teenager killed in a car crash in Kent says she feels like she’s in a “living hell” following the loss of her son.

Keena Entwistle, from Ramsgate, is urging all drivers to do their bit to improve road safety by not taking unnecessary risks behind the wheel.

Ethan Entwistle, 18, died when the car he was a passenger in collided with a tree in the early hours of Sunday, 1 October 2023.

He had been with friends heading back after a night out when the crash occurred on Dumpton Park Drive between Ramsgate and Broadstairs.

Keena Entwistle told ITV News Meridian: “It’s destroyed my life. Every day is just a living hell. Ethan was an innocent victim of the car crash.

“Me, his brother, all our family, our friends were all innocent victims. But we are now all having to live a life sentence.”

A Kent Police spokesperson confirmed that their investigation remains ongoing. An 18-year-old man, previously arrested in connection with the incident, remains on bail.

Passenger Ethan Entwistle died when the car he was in collided with a tree on Dumpton Park Drive in October 2023. Credit: Family photo

Official figures obtained by ITV News Meridian show that 86 people lost their lives on the roads of Kent and Sussex in 2023.

In recent weeks traffic officers in Kent have used an unmarked lorry cab, supplied by National Highways, to catch drivers committing so-called “distraction offences”.

Three lorry drivers were pulled over in less than an hour for allegedly using their mobile phone at the wheel during one recent patrol.

Insp Dave Crompton, from the force’s roads policing unit, said: “There's nothing that is so urgent to use your phone behind the wheel that cannot wait.

“If you need to use a phone, then pull over. Make sure it's safe. We don't want to have to deal with the tragic outcomes of people that do tragically die on our roads.”

An unmarked lorry cab is used by police officers across the country to catch drivers distracted at the wheel. Credit: ITV News Meridian

It comes as the Department for Transport announced new funding for local councils to improve road safety at known accident blackspots.

East Sussex County Council will receive £875,000 to make improvements to the A2101 in Hastings, while Essex County Council will get £3.6 million for the A113.

On a visit to Hastings, roads minister Guy Opperman MP, said: “We’ve got some of the safest roads in the world, but we want to make them a lot, lot safer.”

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