A judge has slammed an 18-year-old’s parents ‘crass’ decision to buy him a BMW sports car just days after he passed his test, as he is spared jail for causing the deaths of a promising footballer and their friend.
Inexperienced driver William Sherriff did not slow down or steer his car as it approached a bend in Beaconsfield, Buckinghamshire, on August 6, last year, a court heard.
William Sherriff caused the death of his friend Luca Skivington
Talented footballer Luca Skivington, 17, was a front seat passenger and ‘bore the brunt,’ of the crash as Sheriff’s car it a grass verge and was sent flying through the air for 30 metres before it hit an electrical substation.
Ollie Masters, also 17, was said to be haunted by the images of Luca’s traumatic head injuries. He developed PTSD and took his own life in March this year.
Today Sheriff was given a six month prison sentence, suspended for two years.
One man who stormed out of the sentencing told Judge Frances Sheridan: ‘You’ve got that wrong.
Talented footballer Luca Skivington ‘bore the brunt,’ of the horrific crash
Turning to Sheriff’s parents, he said: ‘You should be ashamed of yourselves, letting him drive that car. You have got blood on your hands.’
Sherriff was told: ‘You’re a liar, you’re a coward and you’re a killer and that is all you will ever be,’ by a woman who stormed out of court as he was given a suspended sentence.
The teenager was given a six month prison sentence, suspended for two years, after he admitted to causing the death of promising footballer Luca Skivington by careless driving.
Judge Francis Sheridan had criticised the decision of Sherriff’s parents in buying him a sports car – he had only passed his driving test three days before the death crash.
The judge said: ‘The buying of that BMW was the crassest decision that any of us will ever witness.
‘The defendant had only just passed his test and the decision to buy him a BMW 1.8, for a new driver of his age, was a crass one to put it mildly.’
Ollie Masters was said to be ‘haunted’ by the image of Luca’s horrific head injury sustained in the crash and took his own life
Sherriff had only passed his test days before getting behind the wheel of the powerful BMW car and taking his three friends out for a test drive, the court heard.
While the other 17-year-old passengers were admiring the almost new vehicle, Sherriff slipped the car into sports mode and drove down a country lane on August 6 last year, a judge was told.
Jonathan Stone, prosecuting, said: ‘Luca had suffered an extremely severe, non-survivable head injury that would have resulted in instantaneous death.
‘The cause of the collision was because of the nature of the driving of the defendant. He has accepted that by way of his guilty plea.