George Taylor, 19, from Ely, Cambridgeshire, made phone calls and five videos before crashing into a car driven by Catherine Davies, a fitness instructor, who was left paralysed
A teen driver filmed himself driving at speed using his knees to steer before crashing into a car leaving a woman paralysed from the neck down.
George Taylor, 19, from Ely, Cambridgeshire, has been jailed for two years and two months after pleading guilty to causing serious injury by dangerous driving. He was also disqualified from driving for 40 months and told he must take an extended driving test before he can drive again.
Norwich Crown Court heard how Taylor, who had held his license for less than 12 weeks, had been driving a black VW Golf on the A47, at around 11am on Wednesday, January 18 last year. He failed to see a Skoda Fabia waiting to turn right in front of him and collided with the rear of the vehicle.
Catherine Davies, a fitness instructor in her 40s who was driving the Skoda, suffered a cardiac arrest and she was given lifesaving care by an off duty paramedic and officers until she was taken to hospital. A mum of a nine-year-old son at the time of the crash, she has been left paralysed from the neck down and requires lifelong care including ventilation for breathing.
Analysis of Taylor’s mobile phone found that he had been using it throughout his journey, including making two calls, sending one text and recording five videos. These videos showed him driving at speed and overtaking other vehicles whilst using his knees on his steering wheel. One of the people he was on the phone to had become so concerned that they warned him to stop, the court was told.
Her father Jeremy told the court: “As a result of this accident, Catherine’s life has been utterly devastated. She will never breathe for herself again, let alone feel anything from the neck down. She will never taste food again, she will always struggle to communicate. She will never be able to hug her son again. She may not be able to work. She now requires 24-hour care.”
And a statement from the family of the victim read: “Catherine has always been such a gregarious person with a great sense of humour and so full of life. She had a strong work ethic and would put her hand to anything and everything. She also dotes on her son.
“I’ll never forget that day when we were told she had been in an accident, and then arriving at the hospital to be facing the reality that we may lose her. To hear that my only daughter may not survive was heart-breaking and, as her dad, all I wanted to do was make everything better for her.
“The past 22 months have been traumatic and while I can’t change anything, I hope that by speaking out I can make others aware of what can happen on the roads. Catherine’s life was changed in a split second, and I wouldn’t wish that on anyone. My focus now is to help Catherine and her son as much as I can to make their lives as comfortable as possible.”
Speaking after Taylor’s sentencing, lead investigating officer, Sgt Callum Walchester, said: “This is a deeply tragic case which, like many collisions, could have been entirely avoidable. George Taylor didn’t set out on the morning of 18th January intending to cause unimaginable injuries to another person but sadly that is exactly what he did.
“Catherine was a fit and healthy mother who now, as a result of Taylor’s actions, will live out the rest of her life paralysed and requiring lifelong care and support. Catherine and her family have agreed for us to tell her story to highlight the dangers that using a mobile phone poses, in the hope that no one else is in their position. This is testament to their strength and outlook and for that, I thank them.
“George Taylor made multiple decisions to use his mobile phone that day and in doing so put himself and everyone else at significant risk. It was Catherine who has paid the price. The use of a mobile phone is one of the fatal four offences. It is distracting and put simply, it’s dangerous. It doesn’t matter what you are using it for, you are putting every road user is at risk.
“It is because of incidents like this that we enforce not only mobile phone offences, but all the fatal four. People often think it will never happen to them, but we see all too often how quickly life can change because of this type of offending.
“Incidents like these are indiscriminate, they can happen to anyone, at any time. It doesn’t matter how good of a driver you may think you are – if you are using your mobile phone, you are risking the life of every road user you encounter.
“Please, if you take nothing else from this message, please watch the video and watch how quickly things can change and realise the very real consequences, please, just think.”
