Two teenage boy racers are jailed for five years each after causing the death of a 17-year-old girl passenger during a race that reached speeds of 90mph.
A 17-year-old boy, who cannot be named for legal reasons, ignored his Olivia Alkir’s screams to slow down as he raced his Ford Fiesta at Efenechtyd, near Ruthin.
Egged on by his friend Thomas Quick, 18, the teenager hurtled down the B5105 carriageway last June and collided at 80mph into an oncoming Mercedes.
The crash killed Olivia, deputy head of her school, who had sat at the back of the Fiesta and desperately pleaded with the driver to slow down.
Pictured: Thomas Quick arriving at Mold Crown Court for sentencing after goading his friend, a 17-year-old who cannot be named for legal reasons, to race him at speeds of up to 90mph
Both male teenagers admitted causing the death by dangerous driving of Olivia, and injuring four others in the collision, at Mold Crown Court.
Judge Parry condemned the incident as ‘one of the worst examples of dangerous driving one could imagine’ and excoriated the pair for blighting the lives of Olivia’s family, arguing: ‘You two were the cause of those dreadful consequences.
‘That was purely down to your arrogance, selfishness and egotistical conduct.’
The judge said to the pair: ‘You have had the benefit of excellent upbringings. This isn’t a case involving vulnerable, poorly-educated, disadvantaged young people.’
He also pledged to write to the Government, and called for banning newly-qualified drivers from carrying more than one passenger for a year.
The court heard how Quick, who was driving a Ford Ta, had ‘manipulated’ his friend into racing with him down the B5105 carriageway.
Pictured: Olivia Alkir (right), who was killed in the car crash on the B5105 between Efenechtyd and Ruthin after desperately pleading with her driver to slow down
Judge Parry condemned the incident as ‘one of the worst examples of dangerous driving one could imagine’ and excoriated the pair (pictured, Quick) for blighting the lives of Olivia’s family, arguing: ‘You two were the cause of those dreadful consequences. That was purely down to your arrogance, selfishness and egotistical conduct’
With Olivia sat in the back, the boy saw the chance to race Quick as a final ‘window of opportunity’ before his car was fitted with a speed limiter.
The 17-year-old driver had just passed his driving test a day before the incident, and had been warned twice by teachers about his reckless driving.
On the fateful day, the group of friends travelled in a convoy of three vehicles, with Quick and the 17-year-old racing each other near Llysfasi College.
The boy drove on the opposite side of the single carriageway and ‘won’ on both occasions, boasting about his victory, the court heard.
But friends commented that he ‘seemed to think he was invincible’ after he hit speeds of 110mph while approaching a 20mph zone.
He had also driven into a ditch after a near-miss with another car.
Pictured: The point of collision on the B5105, where tributes to Olivia were left. Olivia’s parents called their daughter ‘beautiful’ and said they were ‘waiting to die’
Pictured: Tributes at the scene of a fatal car accident on the B5105, where 17-year-old Olivia had begged the Ford driver to slow down before he collided into a Mercedes at 80mph
After spending the day at Llyn Brenig, the friends made their way to the B5105. Quick went first with the 17-year-old following quickly behind him and ‘witness after witness’ described how their driving had been ‘fast and reckless’.
Travelling at speeds between 70mph and 90mph, the 17-year-old’s passengers – including Olivia – were heard screaming for him to slow down.
His Fiesta then collided into an oncoming Mercedes after crossing onto the opposite side of the road, killing Olivia upon impact.
Two other teenage girls suffered life-changing injuries, while Mercedes driver Dylan Jones spent 54 days in hospital and suffers from a limp.
Judge Parry said he hoped this case deter ‘young impressionable people, often influenced by peer pressure’ from entering into dangerous behaviour.
In a heart-rending impact statement, Olivia’s mother Joanna called her daughter a ‘beautiful only child’ to whom she and her husband Mesut were devoted.
Revealing that they are now ‘waiting to die’, she said: ‘Our world was shattered when she was needlessly killed. We were the proudest parents on earth.’