'Show-off' driver, 17, killed three friends in crash weeks after passing test

Wales Online

28-04-2025

'Show-off' driver, 17, killed three friends in crash weeks after passing test
The judge said there was plenty of evidence of bad driving
Edward Spencer arriving at court
(Image: SWNS )
A "show off" teenage driver who killed three school friends in a horror crash just five weeks after passing his test has been sentenced to two years. Edward Spencer, now 19, lost control of his Ford Fiesta while driving home from Chipping Campden School in the Gloucestershire Cotswolds.
He was travelling at 64mph when he ploughed into a Fiat 500 coming in the opposite direction on the B4035 near Shipston, Warwickshire, on April 21, 2023. His passengers, Harry Purcell, 17, Matilda "Tilly" Seccombe, 16, and Frank Wormald, 16, were airlifted to hospital, but died.
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Two children, aged 10 and 12, who were travelling in the Fiat with their stepmother and another teenager suffered "life-changing" injuries in the crash. A court heard Spencer, who was 17 at the time, had a "cavalier" attitude towards driving and shared Snapchat videos of him boasting about being able to "drive like a d**khead' once he'd passed his test.
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He also filmed LED lights in his car interior and joked 'it's disco time' and bragged about reversing so fast that he was 'going to crash'. Spencer had denied causing death by careless or inconsiderate driving, but changed his pleas to guilty on March 17 this year.
The teenager, of Newbold-on-Stour, Warwickshire, also admitted three counts of causing serious injury by careless or inconsiderate driving. On Monday he was sentenced to 24 months behind bars and banned from driving for eight years at Warwick Crown Court.
Sentencing, Judge Andrew Lockhart KC said: 'We start where we must by acknowledging the carnage of your foolish actions on your day. I have read many such statements which give some idea of those you killed.
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'It's of note that no one walked away from this collision unhurt. I also note that others who came to the scene had to deal with a scene of utter devastation.
'It is the cross that you will bear. I make it clear that any sentence cannot put a value on any one of the lives of the children who died. All of these children in my judgement were true exemplars of the very best that our community has to offer.'
Judge Lockhart told the court how video footage found online and on Tilly's Snapchat account showcased the defendant's 'cavalier' attitude to driving.
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He added: 'It is disturbing material and seriously aggravates your position. Toni Purcell recovered a number of clips saved from Snapchat. These clips showcased your cavalier attitude for dangerous driving. You filmed LED lights in your driver and passenger footwell, and you can be heard saying 'disco time'.'
The judge described one clip in which Spencer told one friend 'so when I reverse really fast, I'm going to crash and it's going to fly down. It doesn't go fast on gravel'.
In another he told another friend 'you can nicely when you pass and then you can drive like a d**khead' while discussing driving styles.
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Judge Lockhart said: 'The Snapchat messages with Tilly complaining about your reckless driving, your response being that she was 'underestimating you'. Across the course of five or six weeks you were driving in a manner showcasing this.
"You're a habitual bad driver, fascinated by speed. It is of note that you were warned of this behaviour.
'There was a terrible inevitability to what was going to happen on April 21. It was 3.5 miles before the collision that your car was caught on CCTV. It is clear from that footage that your car is significantly speeding.
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'A careful driver would have realised the risks of driving on a rural road with bends and undulations. At the point where you lost control there is a chevron. A competent driver would have braked on the approach to this bend.
'I note that the national speed limit is 60mph and it is applicable to this stretch of road. I further note that this is a limit, not a target.
'I am of the clear view that it would be an act of pure folly to drive 60mph through these bends. This was a road you knew with hazards you knew, that knowledge did not cause you to slow down.
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'At the right hand bend you lost control of your car into the oncoming Fiat 500. It swerved onto the grass verge and you couldn't control your car and it presented its near onside to the oncoming car.
'None could, or did, survive such a disaster. That impact was enormous. This was a car driving way too fast, through severe bends, by a young man with a penchant to show off. This has all the trademarks of lift-off oversteer.
'My analysis, I am sure that beyond doubt the reason you lifted your foot off the throttle is you realised you were driving too fast for the road. Whilst there are no convictions, there is a crystal clear history of dangerous driving.
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"The case is aggravated because you disregarded the warnings of others in the weeks previous. This was a collision fuelled by an irresponsible and inexperienced driver who had been warned in the weeks before.'
The horror crash occurred as Spencer was driving home from the school, where they were all Year 12 students. Harry and Tilly died a day after the smash, while Frank passed away two days later.
Harry Purcell
(Image: Warwickshire Police/SWNS )
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Following the case, Harry's heartbroken mother Toni Purcell blasted "remorseless" Spencer and said: "We will never forgive him."
Paying tribute to her son, she said: "Words don't come easy to try to explain the pain of losing your child. It's an indescribable pain felt every minute of every day. A never-ending nightmare, now a lifetime of sadness.
"We had loved every minute of watching Harry grow into such a kind, loving and so very funny young man. Now we can only imagine what his future would have been.
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"He has always wanted Chelsea season tickets. For years we'd tried to get them for him, but couldn't.
"However last year Chelsea contacted us to say that they had some available. Sadly Harry will never get to enjoy them.
"Not only has Harry been taken away from us, he's been taken from his sister and twin brother. We'll never get the chance to say I love you again. We'll never get the chance to laugh with him.
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"Every birthday, every holiday, every milestone so painful that Harry won't be there with us. The guilt we carry that we're still here and Harry's life was taken.
"Our hearts are broken beyond repair. We now only have memories that we'll hold tight forever."
She added: "Edward Spencer was speeding when he killed our son. Our family and so many other families will forever be impacted by his actions that day.
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"Harry's death was completely avoidable. It has taken almost two years for him to plead guilty and two years of us attending several court hearings.
"Each so hard to bear and each time learning of his not guilty pleas. Edward nor his family have shown no empathy or remorse towards us.
"Edward Spencer's sentence will pale into insignificance compared to the sentence he has given our family. We will never forgive him."
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Matilda 'Tilly' Seccombe
(Image: Warwickshire Police/SWNS )
Tilly's mum Juliet Seccombe said: "There are no winners here today – only losers. We have lost our beautiful daughter who had a zest for life and had her future mapped out before her. A life that I know would have achieved great things.
"Edward Spencer took away that life due to his reckless behaviour putting his own ego before the safety of himself, his passengers and other road users. No sentence will bring back our daughter and we take little comfort in the punishment of someone else's son.
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"However, we hope that Edward Spencer can at last reflect on his actions and finally accept responsibility for the devastation he has caused and learns to atone. We would like to thank all the emergency services who attended the scene, the hospital staff and the police investigation team. All of which have shown us incredible kindness and support.
"Even though the numbers of young drivers have dropped significantly since 2010. In 2023 they caused 4,959 deaths and serious injury on the roads.
"That is over 95 per week. This number has increased by 11% from the year before according to government data, and these collisions are almost never an accident.
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"They are nearly always preventable, and it's due to young drivers using or holding mobile phones, inappropriate speed or speeding on rural roads, risk-taking and showing off, as well as drug abuse all of which when you combine this with inexperience is a recipe for disaster.
"The saddest part about it is, that it's generally innocent bystanders or other road users who are killed or suffer life-changing injuries – not the irresponsible driver.
"I now want to say this to the Government. Whilst you are not considering Graduated Driving Licences, you have recognised that young people are disproportionately victims of tragic incidents on our roads.
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"You have been exploring options to tackle the root causes of this for decades. It's time for action – not procrastination. Otherwise, more families will suffer the devastating loss of their loved ones."
The injured woman and her children are still receiving treatment and this will continue into early adulthood for the children.
The woman, who cannot be named for legal reasons, said: "Firstly, I would like to express my deepest condolences to all of the other families involved. I don't have the words to express how sorry I am that this has happened.
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"If I could have done anything to stop this, I truly would. If I could go back and give my life to save theirs, to save the suffering my children felt, I would, without hesitation.
"Both my children and I are still suffering from the consequences of this crash; there have been countless hospital appointments, operations, therapies. Nothing can undo the trauma that we have all been through; there is still pain, nightmares, flashbacks.
"I wake in the night from nightmares, picturing the poor children in the other car who didn't survive. I have flashbacks to being in the car with my children, the intense fear I felt, but had to hide for their sake. I see my own children dead in the back seats of my car.
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"This collision has given me permanent scars, both physically and mentally. I should feel lucky for surviving, but I feel the furthest thing from lucky.
"The lucky ones are the people who go their whole lives without this trauma - this is not lucky; this is the thing of nightmares. Edward, had you been sorry for your actions, had you said sorry, had you asked for forgiveness, you would have got it. You did not do this.
"You showed yourself to be cocky and indifferent, taking almost two years to take responsibility for your actions. You showed everyone that you do not care about the innocent lives you have taken. You do not care that you nearly killed two innocent children.
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"You have not shown any remorse, any regret, any guilt. That is unforgivable. This crash, like so many others, was wholly preventable. Graduated driving licenses have been proven to reduce incidents of this kind. Every time I see another crash like this in the news, it breaks my heart, yet still nothing is done to prevent these young lives from being lost."
Spencer will serve his sentence in a young offenders' institution.
Detective Sergeant Stephen Barr, of Warwickshire Police, said afterwards: "This was a truly tragic collision and our thoughts remain with all those involved and affected by what happened. Edward Spencer was an inexperienced driver who made decisions on that day that changed many lives forever.
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"He and all the families affected will have to live with the consequences of what he did for the rest of their lives. As this tragic case shows the consequences of careless driving can be devastating.
"Any death is difficult to come to terms with, but for three young lives to be lost who each had so much to look forward to is extremely challenging. We know this conviction will not bring comfort to the loved ones of the three teenagers who lost their lives as well as those who were seriously injured, but we welcome the Judge's decision in this matter.'