Teen who escaped horror crash calls for action on Southwick road

Christy Rowlatt was involved in the horrific accident last May in Pitymoor Lane, Southwick – the same place where 19-year-old Luke Fletcher died in a crash on Saturday, January 23.

The 18-year-old said: ‘I want to stop any accidents I possibly can as I know how lucky I was to survive.’

Her boyfriend Broughton Smith, 19, from Whiteley was driving his new Corsa along the country lane at night, when he clipped the grass verge and the car spun off the road and into a ditch, hitting a tree.

Investigations found he was driving at 46mph – well below the national limit.

After three hours, the pair came round to discover the horrific injuries they had suffered.

Broughton had broken his arm and back, and Christy had broken her collarbone.

Luckily Christy’s mum was calling her mobile, as Christy was late home, and it illuminated in the car and the pair were able to find it and call for help.

Christy, of Trimaran Road, Warsash, said: ‘Once I woke up, it was like I was in a dream state.

‘Then it all hits you – the pain, the situation, the blood.

‘I was only 17 at the time so all I wanted was my mum.

‘We didn’t even know where we were or how long we’d been there.’

Firefighters came to cut the pair out and they were taken to hospital – with Broughton staying there for a month and Christy for two weeks, returning for later operations.

The pair had only been together for a couple of months when the crash happened.

Now, after hearing about the latest fatality on the road, the pair are calling for action to be taken to prevent more deaths.

Christy, who is an apprentice studying business and administration at Fareham College, said: ‘Anything that can be done should be.

‘Every traffic calming measure. I know the roads are very difficult there but it is to prevent lives being lost.’

Estate agent Broughton, from Whiteley, said: ‘It’s crazy the amount of people that have either died or got seriously injured on that road. A lot of people do take advantage and speed down there.

‘There are no barriers along the straight, so if you stray off the road even a tiny bit you can go into a spin.’

Executive member for transport at Hampshire County Council, which looks after the road, said an investigation was underway.

He said: ‘Once this investigation is complete, we will act on any mitigation measures the investigation recommends’.