A 21-YEAR-OLD woman has been sentenced to six years in prison after killing two people in a car crash near Cirencester less than a month after passing her driving test.
Liberty Mitchell, who had recently turned 18 at the time of the incident, pleaded guilty to driving dangerously and causing the deaths of taxi driver Octavian Codreanu, 44, and his passenger Moyra Whelan, 35.
Mitchell, of Chipping Norton in Oxfordshire, was travelling at 96 miles per hour in a 60mph zone seconds before she hit Mr Codreanu’s taxi in December 2022 on the B4425 near Aldsworth.
At Gloucester Crown Court on Friday, Judge Rupert Lowe sentenced Mitchell, who wept openly in the dock, to six years and eight months in prison.
The crash, which involved a grey Mini Cooper, black Audi A3, grey Polestar 2 and a black Seat Leon, happened at around 12.45pm on December 2, 2022, Gloucestershire police said.
Gloucester Crown Court heard Mitchell was at the time of the crash self-employed as a cleaner and was travelling between holiday cottages in the area in order to clean them.
Mitchell, driving the Mini Cooper, attempted to overtake three vehicles at once while travelling at 96mph, before trying to abort the manoeuvre and hitting the taxi.
Mr Codreanu and schoolteacher Ms Whelan, who was on her way to a wedding, died in the collision.
Mitchell was charged with two counts of causing death by dangerous driving, three counts of causing serious injury by dangerous driving and two counts of causing death by driving while uninsured, due to her car insurance not including use of the vehicle for work purposes.
She pleaded guilty to all charges.
The court heard injuries suffered by those in the crash included a fractured hip, broken ribs, severe abdominal wounds and shattered bones protruding through the skin.
Nicola Cooper, one of the passengers in the taxi, said: “The crash itself was traumatic. The impact felt endless.
“I live with survivor’s guilt and the trauma of losing one of my closest friends, Moyra, who was sitting just inches from me.
“I lie awake at night thinking about the ‘what ifs’.”
Katy-Louise Whelan, Ms Whelan’s younger sister, said: “She had so much left that she wanted to experience… but the opportunity was stolen from her and we are devastated.
“I’m still absolutely incredulous she is not with us anymore.
“It’s like the light of the world is dimmed and we will never be able to turn it back on again.
“One aspect that haunts me is that my sister died violently… I’m truly devastated my beautiful, innocent sister was subjected to that.”
Simon Stirling, defending, suggested Mitchell’s actions were a result of ‘inexperience rather than irresponsibility’.
He said Mitchell had only recently passed her driving test and would not have understood the risk of the manoeuvre she was attempting.
Judge Lowe said: “At the time of this collision, you had held a full driving licence for less than three weeks.
“You were, at the time, a reckless and immature young driver suffering from the, frankly-common, teenage delusion that you were invulnerable and free to do as you wished.
“The lives of all the victims and their families have been irrevocably changed.”
Mitchell was sentenced to six years and eight months in jail and must serve half of this term in custody before being eligible for release on licence.
More to follow.
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