'Lunatic' driver jailed over passenger's death

6:40pm Friday 13th July 2007

AN inexperienced motorist's "lunatic" driving led to the death of a young passenger, a court heard.

Liam Robert Toye, 18, was today sentenced to three years in a young offenders' institution, having previously admitted causing the death of 16-year-old friend Tracey Barnett, by dangerous driving.

"It doesn't matter what sentence he got, it will not bring her back."

Tracey Barnett's mother, Barbara

Toye, then 17 and a qualified driver for only a fortnight, lost control at the wheel of a Peugeot 306 on a dip on the A181 near Durham City.

It weaved from side to side, at high speed, before colliding with an outbuilding wall of Sherburn Hospital, at Sherburn House, on the evening of Friday June 23 last year.

Tracey, a rear passenger who was not wearing a seat belt, was thrown 30-metres to her death.

Two other passengers were injured and needed hospital treatment, but Toye was unhurt, albeit badly shaken.

Durham Crown Court heard Tracey's father, Jimmy, told her to "be careful", when she was picked up by Toye at the family home, on Gore Hill Estate, Thornley, east Durham, earlier that evening.

Euan Duff, prosecuting, said returning to Thornley from Durham later, witnesses described the car "fish-tailing", travelling at "maniac" speed, before the collision.

Toye, of Shinwell Crescent, Thornley, told police he tried breaking, but his foot may have slipped onto the accelerator.

Mr Duff said accident experts estimated Toye was driving at least at 65-miles per hour when he left tyre marks on breaking, on a 40-mph-limit stretch of road.

Michael Graham, mitigating, said Toye, with no previous convictions, was legally qualified and insured.

He denied prosecution claims it may have been a case of "showing off", and said it was more "inexperience" as a recently qualified driver.

Judge Richard Lowden told Toye: "An aggravating feature, and a bad one, was the greatly excessive speed.

"A witness describes you driving as only in a way a lunatic would.

"With your lack of experience you couldn't control this car."

Toye was banned from driving for five years.

Speaking afterwards, Tracey's parents Jimmy and Barbara said: "He at least pleaded 'guilty'. That's what we wanted.

"It doesn't matter what sentence he got, it will not bring her back."

Tracey had just completed her GCSE exams and was about to start work at a local hairdressing salon.

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