A teenage boy who crashed into a car and left its driver paralyzed from the neck down was jailed for 26 months on Monday.
George Taylor, then 17, was using his knees to steer his VW Golf while making calls and filming himself when he failed to notice Catherine Davies, 51, waiting to turn right in front of him.
Upon impact, Catherine, who was formerly a fitness instructor, suffered severe brain and spinal injuries. She can no longer talk or walk for the rest of her life.
Highlights
- A teen was jailed for 26 months after a crash left a woman paralyzed.
- George Taylor was using his knees to steer while filming himself.
- The victim Catherine Davies suffered severe brain and spinal injuries.
A teenager has been put behind bars for more than two years after he left a woman paralyzed from the neck down after a negligent car crash
Image credits: Norfolk Constabulary
The teenager, now 19, appeared before Norwich Crown Court yesterday after being admitted under the pretense of causing serious injury by driving dangerously.
Judge Anthony Bate said it was absolutely “remarkable” that the defendant did not cause an accident with someone sooner.
The lead investigating officer, Sgt. Callum Walchester stated, “This is a deeply tragic case which, like many collisions, could have been entirely avoidable. George Taylor didn’t set out on the morning of 18th January intending to cause unimaginable injuries to another person but sadly that is exactly what he did.”
Image credits: Norfolk Constabulary
He later added, “The use of a mobile phone is one of the fatal four offences. It is distracting and put simply, it’s dangerous. It doesn’t matter what you are using it for, you are putting every road user at risk.”
The family of the victim described Catherine as a “gregarious person with a great sense of humor and so full of life.” They said she was known to be determined and would put “anything and everything” in her hands.
Image credits: Norfolk Constabulary
“I’ll never forget that day when we were told she had been in an accident, and then arriving at the hospital to be facing the reality that we may lose her,” they said in a statement.
“To hear that my only daughter may not survive was heart-breaking and, as her dad, all I wanted to do was make everything better for her.”
They hope the “traumatic” past 22 months will raise awareness so these types of accidents never happen again.
An investigation detailed the exact timeline of that fateful day
On January 18, 2023, George was on his way to college at around 9:45 in the morning while using his phone to take videos.
At 9:56am, the first clip was sent out. Twenty-seven minutes later, a second one showed that his knees were handling the steering wheel.
At 10:35am, George received a text message from an anonymous person which read, “Don’t approve.” To this, he responded, “Why not.”
Around a half hour later, at approximately 11:06am, George crashed into Catherine.
She was in a Skoda Fabia when the 17-year-old collided with the rear of her vehicle.
Image credits: Freepik
Throughout the entire journey, the teenage boy had used his phone a total of almost ten times—making two calls, sending one text, and recording five videos, according to a police analysis. He’d held his license for less than 12 weeks at the time of the crash.
Emergency services arrived immediately to transport Catherine to the hospital.
Catherine is no longer in the hospital but must rely on equipment to keep her alive
Image credits: Norfolk Constabulary
Prior to her life-threatening injuries, Catherine was working in estate planning, ran fitness classes in her spare time as a trainer, and cared for her 10-year-old son.
Now, an “eye-gazing” machine helps her communicate due to the damage done to her vocal chords and a tracheostomy—a surgical procedure allowing her windpipe to open—allows her to keep breathing.
Image credits: Norfolk Constabulary
In the victim impact statement, her father said, “She will never breathe for herself again. She will never taste food again. She will never be able to hug her son again.”
In response, George apologized to the family, saying, “I wish I had never got a license and had never got a car. I cannot say anything more than sorry.”