Newly-qualified driver, 19, sentenced for causing deaths of three teenagers in Warwickshire crash
The mother of Tilly Seccombe whose daughter was killed in the crash has spoken to ITV News Central in the wake of the sentencing, as Pablo Taylor reports.
A teenage motorist who admitted causing the deaths of three passengers in a two-car crash five weeks after he passed his driving test has been sentenced.
Edward Spencer lost control of the car between Chipping Campden and Shipston-on-Stour whilst on his way home from school in April 2023.
He has been banned from driving for eight years and has been sentenced to two years in a young offenders institution.
His passengers, Harry Purcell, 17, Matilda "Tilly" Seccombe, 16, and Frank Wormald, 16, all died in the crash.
A woman and two children were also seriously injured in the crash after the car Spencer was driving crashed head on into them. They were left with life-changing injuries.
Spencer, from Newbold on Stour, previously pleaded guilty at Warwick Crown Court to causing death by careless driving and three counts of causing serious injury by careless or inconsiderate driving.
He has been banned from driving for eight years and has been sentenced to two years in a young offenders institution.
Warwickshire Police said the case showed the “devastating consequences” of a car being driven carelessly.
The family have said that Edward Spencer and the victims were not friends, they were fellow pupils.
"The crash was caused by a lethal combination of grossly excessive speed and a failure to drive to the road conditions"
Judge Andrew Lockhart KC was told Spencer, of Armscote Road, Newbold-on-Stour, Warwickshire, only passed his driving test six weeks earlier but social media videos discovered after the crash had exposed a history of “showing off, driving too quickly and failing to heed the warnings of those who were in the car with him”.
It also emerged that Tilly had previously sent a Snapchat message to Spencer complaining about his driving but he had responded that she had “underestimated” him.
Passing sentence, the judge told Spencer his previous and habitual poor driving meant that there was a “terrible inevitability” about the “catastrophic” crash.
The judge said of the social media evidence, including video of Spencer passing a mobility scooter at more than 50mph: “It is disturbing material and it seriously aggravates the position you find yourself in.
“This is material that is indisputable, largely captured on video. There is here clear and crystal clear evidence of previous poor driving.”
The crash was caused by a “lethal combination” of grossly excessive speed and a failure to drive to the road conditions, the judge said.
It also emerged that Tilly had previously sent a Snapchat message to Spencer complaining about his driving but he had responded that she had “underestimated” him.
Passing sentence, the judge told Spencer his previous and habitual poor driving meant that there was a “terrible inevitability” about the “catastrophic” crash.
The judge said of the social media evidence, including video of Spencer passing a mobility scooter at more than 50mph: “It is disturbing material and it seriously aggravates the position you find yourself in.
“This is material that is indisputable, largely captured on video. There is here clear and crystal clear evidence of previous poor driving.”
The crash was caused by a “lethal combination” of grossly excessive speed and a failure to drive to the road conditions, the judge said.
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