The family of a 16-year-old boy killed in a car crash say they can finally move on following the conviction of the teenager at the wheel for careless driving.
Danielle Briers, of Woodlands Avenue in Berkhamsted, crashed her Rover Metro into a tree when she lost control along the Bedmond Road in Pimlico near Hemel Hempstead.
Adeyfield School sixth form student Joshua Kelly, who was a passenger in the car
, suffered head injuries and died at the scene of the accident.
Briers, 19, was found guilty of driving without due care and attention at Watford Magistrates Court on Friday, January 11. She was given eight driving penalty points which means she will have to re-take her driving theory and practical test. She was also ordered to pay a £500 fine and £400 in court costs.
The conviction comes as the Kelly family prepare to face the one year anniversary of Joshua's death on January 26.
Speaking after the case his brother Adam, 22, who lives with his parents in Ebberns Road, Hemel Hempstead, said: "The sentence doesn't really fit the crime because we have lost a life and she has only lost her licence but this has turned a page and started a new chapter for us. Now we can get on with remembering Joshua."
Although Briers said in court she cannot remember anything from the day of the accident she denied she was driving carelessly.
However, the chair of the bench Mrs B Mouli said: "Your loss of control we think resulted in the accident on that day. We are of the opinion that you departed from the standard of a reasonable, prudent and competent driver. We find you guilty."
Traffic police believe Briers, who passed her test in September 2006, had driven too far to the right on a bend and then over-steered to the left causing the crash.
However, defence solicitor Tony Irving argued there were other factors that could have caused the accident and said police statements taken from the other passengers in the car did not criticise the defendant's driving.
He said a local resident interviewed by police described the road as 'notorious for collisions' but prosecution solicitor Richard Wap said: "Last year there were two fatal accidents on that stretch. In the other one the driver suffered a heart attack and crashed. The year before there was a serious road accident."
CLICK HERE to tell us your news and views on the newsTo see what others are saying online, CLICK HEREThe full article contains 428 words and appears in n/a newspaper.
