Parents of fatal crash victim see car crushed

Lynette and Damian Corfield said they hoped no other family would go through the same as them

The parents of a 19-year-old who was killed in a crash when a driver ploughed into pedestrians at a street-cruising event, have seen the car involved crushed.

Ben Corfield and Liberty Harris, 16, both from Dudley in the West Midlands, died when the car, driven by 56-year-old Dhiya Al Maamoury, crashed in Oldbury in November 2022.

While Ben's father Damian said they would never be the same again, he explained: "I do feel relieved that the car's gone, that we can draw a line under that negativity now and, that we can start to try and rebuild our lives."

Det Sgt Paul Hughes, from West Midlands Police, said: "Crushing this vehicle today is about them seeing some sort of end to it."

A man and a woman were also seriously injured when Al Maamoury, from Solihull, crashed his modified Nissan Skyline.

He was jailed for more than 13 years in 2024, after pleading guilty to causing death and serious injury by dangerous driving.

Mr Corfield said: "To me it wasn't a car, it's a weapon. It's no different to a gun or a knife."

The modified Nissan Skyline was crushed in front of Ben Corfield's parents

A year after his son's killer was jailed, Mr Corfield said: "We haven't had an opportunity really to grieve Ben and we haven't had chance to remember the real positive things that Ben gave us and the love."

Liberty Charris, 16, and Ben Corfield, 19, were killed after a car hit a group of pedestrians in Oldbury

He hoped the crushing of the car would give them the chance to move on.

Ben's mother, Lynette, said: "I've looked at my son's picture and I've said that's it my son, it's not ever going to come back, it's never going to hurt anybody else again."

Det Sgt Hughes said that as well as giving the families some closure, he hoped the crushing of the vehicle would "send a message" to other motorists that in a "split second decision it can all go wrong".