Police publish Sussex crash footage to warn drivers of reckless driving
- Published
A video showing the moments before a high-speed crash which killed two young men has been released by Sussex Police.
The driver Kyle Careford, 20, and his friend Michael Owen, 21, died instantly when the red Renault Clio they were in crashed into a church wall in East Sussex in the early hours of 12 April.
Michael videoed the journey as they sped at up to 90mph while high on drugs along country roads.
It's hoped the footage will warn other people about reckless driving.
The footage was found on Michael's mobile phone near the scene of the crash in Crowborough.
His mother Kat said she was upset that the footage had been released but thought it was a good idea for "educational purposes".
She said: "We bring our children up teaching them right from wrong.
"We guide them and give them our advice and hope they listen, but once they are adults we hope they make the right choices.
"I really don't know why the boys chose to do what they did, but I blame them both for the decisions they made on this night.
"If all this stops one person from making the same mistake, then some good has come from showing this video.
"I'm hoping it will have an impact on young people and make them see that a bit of fun can have such devastating consequences."
Kat says that Sussex Police announced that they would release the footage after it was shown at an inquest held into their deaths at Hastings last week.
She says they only found out about that decision two days ago and that she doesn't think everyone needs to see it.
She told Newsbeat: "I would like to have used it for educational purposes because I think that young drivers do need to see what can happen to them.
"I was just surprised that everyone could see it. It was a bit of a shock."
A Sussex Police spokesman explained that the two friends, who are both from Royal Tunbridge Wells, had taken a cocktail of prescription and illegal drugs that would have caused "severe toxicity" and would have had "a severely detrimental effect on Kyle's ability to control the car".
Zac Hemming, Kyle's brother, said: "This footage or anything of its kind should never be recorded, let alone watched.
"However, despite the pain of it being broadcast by the media, we as a family just hope and pray that this will connect with at least one person out there, young or old, so that no-one ever has to experience the unthinkable pain of losing someone so close and dearly loved."
The police also said that Kyle did not have a valid driving licence and wasn't insured to drive the car, which was owned by Michael.
On the video, the pair can be seen laughing, talking and singing during the journey.
The car, which reaches 90mph, careered off the road smashing through a wall into the grounds of St Michael and All Saints church.
The coroner recorded a verdict of death by road traffic for both men, who were wearing seat belts.
Lauren Humble, Michael's ex-partner, said: "This video was absolutely heartbreaking to watch but it did give us all of the answers that were needed.
"I know plenty of people who drive fast and I hope that this video will show people that driving like this can have devastating consequences and how short life can really be.
"The Michael we saw on that video was not the Michael that we knew who was a loving, caring responsible daddy.
"The legacy that Michael has left is our beautiful daughter Lily-Rose who is five years old. She will have to live with the impact of this horrific situation forever."
Chief Inspector Phil Nicholas, from the Surrey and Sussex road policing unit, said: "As Kat and Zac have so poignantly expressed, if the release of this incredibly impactive footage results in lives saved, then it will be a valuable legacy of Michael and Kyle's sad deaths."
Warning, you might find the footage distressing.
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