‘Show-off' driver, 42, who ploughed into schoolgirl, 15, at crossing months after her life-saving transplant is jailed
Keely Morgan, 15, had been crossing the street in Caerau, Cardiff, at around 9.30pm on May 1, 2023, when she was hit by Christopher West, 42, just
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Keely Morgan, 15, died after being hit by Christopher West's Vauxhall Astra while crossing the street
Credit: WNS
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The 'brave and courageous' teenager had undergone a life-saving kidney transplant just months before her tragic death
Credit: WNS
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Christopher West, 42, has been jailed for 16 months for causing death by dangerous driving
Credit: South Wales Police
The motorist had been driving over the 30mph speed limit in his Vauxhall Astra when he ploughed into the teenager, who tragically died at the scene.
West had failed to see Keely at the crossing, despite her being lit up by an iPad she had been using.
The driver, who was sentenced today at
Cardiff
Crown
Court
to 16 months in prison, had been travelling with his two daughters and their friend when he crashed into Keely.
One of the passengers told police West had been "snaking" along the road and had removed his car's black box, which invalidated his insurance.
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The motorist had also showed off the fact he had removed it before causing Keely's death.
West previously pleaded guilty to causing death by dangerous driving and causing death while uninsured.
He had, however, claimed that the car's black box was disconnected after he was working on the car - and that he had forgotten to reconnect it.
Despite also claiming that his driving had been normal, testimonies from his passengers countered these claims.
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Most read in The Sun
At his sentencing today, West was branded as an "irresponsible show off" by judge Paul Hobson.
He said: "Keely Morgan was just 15-years-old when she died on May 1, 2023.
Horror moment car ploughs into pedestrian TWICE in front of onlookers as man arrested on suspicion of attempted murder
"Keely died as a result of your actions, as a result of your careless driving that evening.
"You should have seen her and come to a stop in order to allow her to cross.
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"Instead, you continued driving, oblivious to her, meaning that when Keely stepped into the road, you collided with her."
The judge described Keely as a young woman who was part of a 'large family network', adding that her loss had 'devastated those who loved her'.
While West had been described as "apologetic" and in a state of panic after the crash, the judge slammed this view.
Hobson said: "Any remorse that you have is overshadowed by your attempts to minimise your level of responsibility, to the extent of challenging what your own passengers were saying.
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"Although you may well be sorry for what happened to Keely, a large part of your concern is for yourself."
Not only was West handed a 16-month prison sentence but he was also disqualified from driving for two years and eight months.
'NO SENTENCE WILL EVER BRING HER BACK'
Earlier this week at the trial, Keely's mum Sian Morgan paid an emotional tribute to her daughter in her victim statement.
Sian said her daughter had been given a "second chance of life" aged 13 and had fought "so hard" to live a normal life.
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The tragedy of her "preventable" death will haunt her forever, she continued.
Sian 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.
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"She had so much love to give. She was truly an incredible person with promise and a
future
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.
Her life mattered. Her death must mean something.
Sian Morgan
Sian said: "Every day I wake up and relive a nightmare. Her loss ripples through every part of our lives.
"My heart aches every day for my daughter who I can no longer hug or see the incredible person she could have been.
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"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.
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"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."
4
Keely's mum has paid tribute to her 'irreplaceable' daughter
Credit: WNS
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