Mother who lost son in crash backs Sussex Police road safety campaign
Harry Dennis was just 11 when he lost his life in December 2022
A mother who lost her son in a fatal crash in East Sussex is backing a new road safety campaign being launched by Sussex Police.
Harry Dennis was just 11-years-old when he was involved in a collision with a scaffolding lorry at Hooe on December 15, 2022.
The lorry driver had failed to secure the load being carried, and a scaffold board became loose before striking through the windscreen of the vehicle Harry was travelling in, causing fatal injuries.
Harry's mum Maria Dennis is supporting Operation Spotlight, which runs throughout July and aims to shine a spotlight on the 'fatal five' offences - considered the main cause of serious injuries and deaths on the country's roads.
These factors are dangerous or careless driving, driving while distracted such as by using a mobile phone, drink or drug-driving, driving at excess speed, and not wearing a seatbelt.
Last year, 45 people were killed in collisions on Sussex's roads.
Maria has described the incident which claimed her son's life as 'completely avoidable':
“My brain froze. I had no idea what had happened. I was in pieces and felt like my whole world had been flipped upside down.
“Harry was a whirlwind, he loved his sport. From the moment he could move he was climbing and jumping off things. He loved being outside, loved seeing his friends and playing football, and he loved to make everyone laugh.
“A scaffolding board came off the scaffold truck through the windscreen of the car and struck Harry. There was nothing they could do to save him.
She is calling on drivers to think about Harry, and other families which have been left 'broken' by fatal accidents across Sussex and around the country.
“Do you want to be that person that destroys those lives? That takes away whatever future that person had?
“How can you live with that? For the sake of putting your phone down, keeping the load down, or sticking to the speed limit?
“You think ‘it won’t happen to me’. But I am living proof that it does happen. People need to think about what they are doing.”
Historically, July sees the highest number of people killed and seriously injured on the UK road network. As part of ongoing work to tackle this, forces across the country have joined the National Police Chiefs’ Council (NPCC) campaign Operation Spotlight to make our roads safer for everyone.
Officers in Sussex are carrying out increased proactive patrols across the county to deter and catch offenders, to prevent serious collisions before they happen and ultimately save lives.
Chief Constable Jo Shiner said:
"Our roads are busier in the summer due to holidays and days out, plus an increase in vulnerable road users such as cyclists, pedestrians and horse riders, so this is all the more reason to drive safely and be more vigilant.
"We consistently see a rise in fatalities and serious injuries through these months with on average more than 2,700 people killed or seriously injured each July over a five year period.
"We know that so many of these collisions are easily preventable, and reducing the number of people who are killed or seriously injured on our roads is a priority for Sussex Police.
"This has devastating consequences for families such as Maria’s.
"We want to prevent other families having to experience the same heartache, and this operation gives us the opportunity to focus our efforts on both educating and engaging with road users as well as stopping offenders."