A young driver caused the death of a "beautiful" teenage girl in a horror smash after being "encouraged" by his friend to lift the vehicle off the road.
Craig Graham was behind the wheel of a Ford Fiesta that included three other teenage passengers on August 28, last year when he was driving around County Durham. But during the journey, Graham's front seat passenger "encouraged" him by saying "fly me, motherf*****" on a section of road they both knew undulated.
It was then that Graham made the decision to try and lift the car in the air, and hit the blind summit at over 70mph, resulting in all four wheels lifting off the narrow B-road. But the 19-year-old lost control of the vehicle and smashed into a stone wall, instantly killing his backseat passenger, 18-year-old Georgia Duncan.
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The horror smash left the other two passengers with significant serious injuries, with Graham's front seat passenger - Georgia's boyfriend - sustaining multiple fractures, a spinal injury and was in a coma for six days. The other passenger, another girl, also sustained a broken spine which required a titanium rod to be fitted.
Graham, of Welford Road, Consett, appeared at Durham Crown Court on Friday to be sentenced for causing death by dangerous driving and two counts of causing serious injury by dangerous driving. He had pleaded guilty to the charges.
Vincent Ward, prosecuting, said Graham and his passengers had been driving around County Durham in a Ford Fiesta while listening to loud music. He said that a dash cam in the vehicle recorded the journey and that a male, understood to be Graham's front seat passenger, could be heard saying "get some air".
Mr Ward said: "The defendant then says 'don't be a d***, I don't jump cars'. The defendant then took the next left turn on to Potterhouse Lane in Pity Me. At 6.19pm, the same voice [as the front seat passenger] can be heard encouraging him, saying 'fly me motherf*****'. The car then accelerated."
The court heard that Graham drove over a "blind summit" at high speed and all four wheels lifted off the road, but he lost control and smashed into a stone wall. Mr Ward said according to the car's dash cam, it was being driven at no less than 72mph before it cut out shortly before the car lifted off the road.
Another motorist who was heading in the opposite direction witnessed the crash and said all four of the vehicle's wheels were about "four feet" off the road and was "absolutely flying". Mr Ward said there were warning signs before the blind summit, which Graham "clearly ignored". When the emergency services arrived, Georgia was sadly pronounced dead at the scene, with the other two passengers being seriously injured.
The court heard Graham's front seat passenger had an "open fracture" to his wrist and he had to be resuscitated at hospital. The other female passenger - who had severe chest injuries - was lying unconscious in the vehicle. Both are still receiving treatment. Graham, who had no previous convictions, had no recollection of the crash.
In a statement, Georgia's mum said her daughter, who was from Tantobie, was a "beautiful young woman and special daughter who was the centre of our world".
Richard Herrmann, defending, said the incident was "tragic", and said the crash happened within seconds. He said: "He was showing off and driving extremely fast". He added Graham was "genuinely remorseful" and had been a close friend to Georgia.
Judge James Adkin, sentencing Graham, told the court he had taken the "deliberate decision to get a thrill from getting the car's wheels to leave the road". He said: "You and your friends were listening to music with your front seat passenger appearing to encourage you to take some air. Both he and you knew that road undulated and you made the decision to try and make the car lift off the ground. That it did, having dreadful consequences for everyone in that vehicle."
Graham was jailed for 58 months and banned from driving for seven years and two months. He must complete an extended driving test if he wants his licence back.
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