Finding healing in the power of forgiveness

SETH FORGIVES HIS FRIEND WHO CAUSED CRASH THAT LEFT HIM PERMANENTLY PARALYSED

- By LEWIS CLARKE

ONLY a few weeks after celebrating his 18th birthday, one 'stupid' decision changed Seth Marks's life and future plans forever but it has now led him to become an advocate for a powerful Restorative Justice (RJ) service for victims called Make Amends, funded by the Police and Crime Commissioner for Devon, Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly.

In the early hours of the morning after a night out drinking in his local village pub in Bere Alston, near Yelverton, Seth chose to get into a car that was being driven by one of his friends. The driver had been drinking with Seth during the evening and had also smoked cannabis.

The half a mile journey ended in tragedy when the then 22-year-old driver - who was speeding - careered off the road and collided with a bank and wooden garden fence. Seth was in the back of the car and wasn't wearing a seatbelt.

He was rushed to Derriford Hospital having suffered severe fractures to his neck and spine and was told the devastating news he was quadriplegic and would never walk again. The driver and front seat passenger escaped the crash uninjured.

Seth has no recollection of the incident, his last memory being leaving the pub and then waking up in intensive care. Due to the ongoing police investigation, he could not talk to the driver, a close friend.

Seth was later transferred to Salisbury Hospital's Spinal Treatment Centre and was finally able to return home, where he lives with his mother, around 21 months after the crash, on May 6, 2022.

He has regained partial movement in his biceps and left wrist but remains confined to a wheelchair, requiring 24/7 support from carers.

Harry, the driver of the car, was jailed for two-and-a half years, after pleading guilty to dangerous driving and other driving offences. He served 11 months of his sentence, but during his imprisonment, Seth was able to talk to him and ask the questions he had desperately wanted answering.