Paralysis victim's crash despair

A teenager who was paralysed following a crash which killed three other teenagers has warned against the dangers of drinking and driving.

Stacey Williams, 18, of Bangor, Gwynedd, who is tetraplegic, said her life had been ruined by the crash, caused by a drink driver on Anglesey.

"Everything I'd hoped and wished for can't happen now," she said.

A video interview with her will be screened at the launch of the Welsh drink-drive Christmas campaign.

Richard Brown, 24, of Newborough, Anglesey, was jailed for 10 years at Caernarfon Crown Court after pleading guilty to causing death by dangerous driving, and driving under the influence of alcohol.

Rebecca Lee, 18, who was 14 weeks pregnant, triplet Elin Rowlands, 15, both of Bangor, and Clifford Jones, 17, from Malltraeth, died in the crash in February.

They had been in the back of Brown's Citroen C2 when he lost control and hit a tree on the A5 at Menai Bridge. Miss Williams was a front seat passenger and suffered life-threatening injuries.

The teenager and her father, Kevin Williams, will talk about the impact the collision has had on her life in a video.

It will be screened as the four Welsh police forces launch their annual Christmas drink-drive campaign with the assembly government, which runs throughout December.

'Small minority'

Family members of the three teenagers who were killed in the crash will also be at the event in Caernarfon.

North Wales Police temporary deputy chief constable Ian Shannon said motorists would be stopped and checked for driving under the influence on roads across the country.

"Officers throughout Wales are committed to making our roads safer and will be conducting targeted patrols in a bid to reduce the number of motorists who decide to drink or take drugs and then get behind the wheel," he said.

Deputy First Minister and Economy and Transport Minister Ieuan Wyn Jones said: "Although only a small minority of motorists continue to ignore the law in regard to drink-driving, this minority of irresponsible drivers still accounts for one sixth of all road deaths in this country."

The legal alcohol limit while driving is 80 milligrams of alcohol in 100 millilitres of blood, or 35 micrograms of alcohol in 100 millilitres of breath.