A HAMPSHIRE woman driving the car which crashed killing one of her close friends had only passed her driving test that day, a court heard.
Katy Butler lost control of her vehicle killing 18-year-old passenger, Abbie O’Rourke.
Her silver Toyota Aygo smashed into a tree off School Lane in Hamble-le-Rice just hours after she passed her test.
Prosecution barrister, Rose Burns, told how Butler, now 19, and her three passengers had driven around Hamble making stops in the Mount Pleasant car park, at the Co-op and Hamble Lane in the lead up to the crash.
After coming off the road, Butler noticed that Abbie, who was sat behind her, was unresponsive and called the ambulance service. She then started CPR.
Ms Burns added that all of the occupants of the car were taken to hospital, however, Abbie was unfortunately later pronounced deceased. A post-mortem revealed the teen of Victoria Road, Netley Abbey, died of multiple injuries.
During a voluntary interview, Butler told police they had been “listening to music and having a bit of a laugh”.
She had also never driven on School Lane before and was not aware of the bend until it was too late.
A crash investigation suggested the car had been travelling between 26.5mph and 33.8mph.
The likely cause of the crash was a combination of factors, including Butler’s inexperience and unfamiliarity with the road, it added.
She tested negative for drugs and alcohol.
Appearing before Southampton Crown Court, Butler of Norbury Gardens, Hamble, was charged with a single count of causing death by careless/inconsiderate driving. She pleaded guilty to the offence which happened on December 5, 2019.
Defending, Charles Gabb, said: “It is not something she will ever forget. They were good friends, and this is the last thing in the world she would have wanted to happen to anybody.”
He stressed there had similar collisions in the same particular stretch of road, adding: “You could only hope the council would do something about it.”
Judge Nicholas Rowland said it was a tragic case. He gave Butler an 18-month community order, 80 hours of unpaid work, and disqualified from driving for 12 months.
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