Teenage Student Driver Sent to Prison After Killing Three of His Friends in a Fatal Crash: After admitting to killing his three pals in a high-speed car crash, the adolescent received a sentence of four years and eight months in jail.
According to a sentencing release from the court, 19-year-old Jake Loy was sentenced on Monday, August 19, at Glasgow’s High Court in Scotland after smashing his automobile into another vehicle while driving just on a learner’s permit. Finlay Johns, Ian Cannon, and Tyler Johnston, three 16-year-old passengers, perished in the crash in March 2022.
Shortly after midnight, Loy, then 17 years old, and his three pals were driving their Honda Civic when they collided with a Honda CR-V travelling in the opposite direction on a country road near Dumfries. The impact split his automobile due to its force.
Johns, Cannon, and Johnston perished at the scene, and Loy—who entered a guilty plea to charges of causing death and serious injury by reckless driving—along with three other occupants of the second vehicle were “seriously injured” in the collision.
According to The Independent, Loy was reportedly above the 60 mph speed limit on the route at the time of the collision.
“No sentence could ever be enough, he is taken away our brother, he is ruined our family, he is ripped our family to pieces,” Finlay’s brother Grant reportedly said following the sentencing, according to the BBC.
Outside the court, Alan Johns, the victim’s father, told reporters that he felt the penalty was “very lenient.”
“The sentence is what we expected; there are no winners,” he declared.
Loy’s attorney, Donald Findlay KC, stated in court that because of his head injuries sustained in the collision, he had “no recollection” of the incident.
According to the BBC, he said to his client’s court, “It was very telling and quite moving when he said if he could take their place he would— he would rather it had been him.”
“Very clear and strong evidence of survivor’s guilt,” Findlay continued.
Prior to the collision, Cannon, one of the victims, reportedly sent a group Snapchat message expressing his fear about Loy’s driving. This information was presented to the court. A youngster who was in the same group chat as the teenagers noticed the message Cannon had typed, the court was informed.
“He was saying that he was scared because Jake Loy was swerving all over the place, that he was a terrible driver and he was flooring it,” he told the BBC.
On Friday, August 16, the court heard that Loy would be prohibited from driving for eight years and that he would need to complete an extended driving test before he was allowed to drive again.
In a statement made available to the public, Judge Lord Harrower told Loy, “Not only were you unqualified, you had no real familiarity with this car or its characteristics at speed or under adverse conditions.”
“Your driving at the time of the collision was a part of a longer, intentional pattern of aggressive or poor driving, with no regard for the danger being created.”
“Every victim impact statement attests to the horrific destruction you brought upon the lives of those you injured and their families.”
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