A SCHOOLGIRL has been killed by a “show off”; driver just months after receiving a life-saving kidney transplant.
Keely Morgan, 15, was pronounced dead at the scene in Caerau, after being on a pedestrian crossing.
Christopher West, 42, was his two daughters and their friend when he hit the schoolgirl at about 9:30pm on 1 May 2023.
Now, over two years later, Keely’s parents have revealed their “incredible”; daughter had received a life-saving kidney transplant just months before she was tragically killed.
West admitted to killing the teenager at Cardiff Magistrates’ in May, where it was also heard that the dad had been driving between 32 and 42mph on a road with a 30mph limit.
After hitting the girl, West was arrested and questioned by who also performed a and test on the driver.
Both test results came out negative.
Judge Murphy granted the dad conditional bail and told him not to make any contact – direct or indirect – with Keely’s family or to enter certain areas in Caerau.
He has also been banned from driving until his sentencing.
A sentencing hearing at Cardiff Crown Court on Friday heard that West had been driving a “little fast”; and had been “snaking”; his Astra.
The court also heard the dad turned to his daughters and said: “Shall I remove the black box?”; before driving from Barry Island to Ely.
His daughter said her dad had been “showing off”; on the drive.
Kevin Seal, representing West, said his client had shown genuine remorse for causing the, adding that he would have to live with the grief and regret for the rest of his life.
The court also heard a number of emotional statements read by Keely’s family including from her mum, Sian Morgan.
Sian said her daughter had been given a “second chance of life”; aged 13 and had fought “so hard”; to live a normal life.
The tragedy of her “preventable”; death will haunt her forever, she continued.
In a victim statement, she said: “She fought so hard to have the opportunity to live a normal life and have the joys of being a teenager.
“She remained brave, courageous, and positive, but those dreams have been cruelly taken from her in an instant.
“She’ll never be able to finish school, go to university, follow her dreams, experience the joys and the milestones of life.
“She had so much love to give. She was truly an incredible person with promise and a ahead of her.”;
The young girl’s devastated parents described the tragedy as “beyond repair”; and a loss they will carry for the rest of their lives.
Sian said: “Every day I wake up and relive a nightmare. Her loss ripples through every part of our lives.
Her life mattered. Her death must mean something. No sentence will ever bring her back.
Sian Morgan
“My heart aches every day for my daughter who I can no longer hug or see the incredible person she could have been.
“The world is a darker place without her. The trauma of losing her in a sudden, violent, but preventable way haunts us.”;
She added: “This was totally avoidable. That one decision, that one moment, took everything from us.
“A pedestrian crossing is meant to protect people like Keely who was using the crossing appropriately as she had a right to do so but she was struck and killed.
“Her life was taken by the drastic failure of you and you alone. You had a duty to uphold fundamental safety laws of being safe while driving and you chose not to do so.
“She was an irreplaceable part of my life and her family loved her more than words can say.
“Her life mattered. Her death must mean something. No sentence will ever bring her back.”;
Sentencing has been adjourned until July 17 at Cardiff Crown Court.
