A TEEN girl was killed in a horror crash by a speeding driver as her doting mum said her daughter’s “future was stolen from her”.
Demi-Leigh Davies, 17, died after Leon Callaghan lost control of his car while driving at speeds of up to 113mph, a court heard.
Demi-Leigh Davies, above, died after Leon Callaghan lost control of his car Credit: SWNS
Leon Callaghan, above, admitted causing death by dangerous driving Credit: SWNS
Demi-Leigh’s mum said she has not just lost her daughter, but she’s lost her world, and the has been left with a “life sentence of grief”.
Callaghan, 19, was behind the wheel of a Seat Ibiza when he lost control of the vehicle on the M65 in the early hours of October 2, 2024.
He smashed into a motorway barrier and flipped his car, leaving Demi-Leigh with catastrophic injuries after carrying out a “grossly dangerous manoeuvre” at high speed.
His and was tragically pronounced dead in hospital.
Demi-Leigh’s mum described her daughter as ‘beautiful, funny, caring and selfless’ Credit: SWNS
Callaghan was found to be driving 113mph at the time of the crash Credit: SWNS
Two other passengers, girls aged 17 and 19, also suffered serious injuries in the crash near , , but have since recovered.
Callaghan admitted causing death by dangerous driving and was jailed for five years and three months at Preston Crown Court on Friday.
Sentencing, Judge Robert Altham said: “What has caused this young woman’s death is your choice, that rather than face the mild inconvenience of rerouting, you decided to undertake a grossly dangerous manoeuvre.
“You had your foot literally to the floor.”
He added that Callaghan showed little remorse and blamed external factors for Demi-Leigh’s death.
The court heard Callaghan, then 17, had been driving a group of friends home after spending the evening in with his partner and a friend.
The group then picked up Demi-Leigh, who sat in the back behind Callaghan – making five people in the car.
At around 3.31am, one of the passengers filmed the speedometer which showed the car travelling 114mph.
Just moments later, Callaghan was still driving at 113mph when he found himself on the exit lane of the motorway.
He tried to steer back onto the main carriageway but the manoeuvre caused him to lose control and the car skidded into the central reservation.
The car then struck a barrier and rolled several times as the three rear seat passengers – none of whom were wearing seatbelts – were flung from the vehicle.
Passing motorists stopped to help as Callaghan, covered in blood, asked them to call an ambulance and pointed to his pals.
One of the men, a trained first aider, found Demi-Leigh lying in long grass on an embankment and began CPR.
Paramedics arrived at around 3.51am to find already at the scene and Demi-Leigh in cardiac arrest.
She was pronounced dead at Royal Blackburn Hospital at 5am.
An autopsy found she had suffered catastrophic crush injuries, including rib fractures which punctured a lung, slashes to internal organs, and breaks to her pelvis, spine and other bones.
The cause of death was given as severe blood loss due to traumatic injuries.
In a victim personal statement, Demi-Leigh’s mum described her daughter as “beautiful, funny, caring and selfless”.
She said: “There are no words that can truly describe the pain of losing a child. Every day I wake up with the reality that my daughter is gone.
“Every day I am reminded that I will never hear her voice again, never hear her laugh again, never be able to hold her again or hear her call me mum.
“As a family, we will never see Demi become the woman she was meant to be. We will never see her progress in the career she had just begun.
“We will never see her achieve her dreams, fall in love, get married, or have children of her own.
“We will never know what her future would have looked like because it was taken from her before she had the chance to live it.”
The grieving mum added: “Demi was only beginning her journey into adulthood. She had her whole future ahead of her.
“That future was stolen from her, and our family has been left to live with that loss every single day.
“Nothing can undo the pain and suffering that her death has caused. We have been given a life sentence of grief, and we will carry that burden for the rest of our lives.”
Emma Kehoe, defending, said Callaghan had been 17 at the time and of previous good character, and that he now fully accepted his actions caused Demi-Leigh’s death.
The court was told Callaghan had been diagnosed with at 12 and more recently with , which she said affected his thinking and decision-making.
Callaghan, who is now a dad and expects a second child later this year, was sentenced to five years and three months’ detention in a young offenders’ institution.
He was also disqualified from driving for nine years and one month and must pass an extended re-test before he can drive again.
Eze Chidiebere Paul
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