A 15-year-old boy will be detained for four and a half years for causing death by dangerous driving after three children and two men died when a stolen car ploughed into a tree.
Brothers Ellis and Elliott Thornton-Kimmitt, 12 and 14, Darnell Harte, 15, and Robbie Meerun, 24, died when the Renault Clio they were travelling in hit a tree. Father-of-two Anthoney Armour, 24, was also killed in the crash.
All five were killed when the Renault Clio they were travelling in left the road and hit a tree in Leeds just before 10pm on Saturday, November 25.
Police officers described the scene as ‘catastrophic’ and said they confronted by ‘of total carnage’ when they arrived.
Ellis and Elliott Thornton were among five people who died in the crash in Leeds in November
Darnell Harte also died when the car the group were in, a stolen Renault Clio, hit a tree
Robbie Meerun, 24, (left) and father-of-two Anthoney Armour, also 24, (right) also died
A previous hearing heard that ‘half the car essentially disappeared’ due to the severity of the impact.
The vehicle had been stolen from the Headingley area of Leeds earlier the same day.
The boy sentenced today, who cannot be named for legal reasons, was also disqualified from driving for for seven years and three months by Judge Peter Collier QC.
Speaking after the boy admitted the charge, David Holderness from the CPS said: ‘This was a truly shocking crime in which five young people lost their lives.
‘The defendant acted in a supremely dangerous way, driving erratically and at great speed in a residential area.
‘Tragically his victims paid the price of the driver’s utter irresponsibility with their lives.
‘Our thoughts remain with their families and friends, and I hope the driver’s admission of guilt today is of some comfort to them in their grief.’
Darnell Harte’s familytold of their loss outside Leeds Crown Court following today’s hearing
Darnell’s sisters were overcome with emotion as they gave their reactions to the sentence