Mother of teenager killed by speeding soldier feels ‘let down by system' after driver spared jail
The mother of a young woman killed in a crash by a soldier who was speeding has said she feels 'let down by the justice system' after he was spared jail.
Laionie Kennard, 18, died after Joseph Pickett's BMW left a 40mph country road at a bend and crashed into trees in Sept 2023.
Pickett, now 20, was spared jail after admitting to causing her death by careless driving.
Laionie's mother Kelly Kennard criticised the justice system, saying she feels 'let down' by the soldier being given only a suspended sentence for causing her daughter's death.
Poole magistrates' court was told that Dorset Police crash investigators found Pickett was travelling between 43mph to 54mph at the time of the crash.
The car left the road at a bend and crashed into trees. After the crash, Ms Kennard got a call from a parent of one of the other young people in the car who had been sent an SOS alert from the Life360 tracking app that there had been an accident.
Mrs Kennard and husband Dave raced to the scene minutes from their home in Verwood, Dorset, to find a police cordon. Laionie died at the scene.
On the night of the crash, Pickett had taken a group of friends including Laionie from girlfriend Edy Herridge's house in Ringwood, Dorset, to a McDonald's four miles away.
Pickett told police he thought the road was covered by the national speed limit – 60mph – but the court heard he had ignored eight 40mph signs and six road markings that either said '40' or 'slow'.
Mrs Kennard, 40, said: 'Laionie sent me a message saying he was driving his car too fast. I replied saying just be careful. She was going to stay at Edy's house that night so I presumed as soon as they were there she would be safe.
'I knew straight away in my gut [after getting the call from the other parent] that something was very wrong. I felt sick and just panicked.
'The crash scene was a five-minute drive from us. We went to the scene not knowing what we were going to walk into. I wouldn't wish that feeling on anybody.
'I really feel like we have been let down.'
Mrs Kennard has joined Forget-me-not Families Uniting, a group of bereaved parents whose children were all killed in crashes involving young drivers, and who are campaigning for graduated driving licensing.
They are calling on the Government to look at steps that would reduce deaths and serious injuries by restricting the number of passengers young drivers can carry, and limiting night-time driving.
She added: 'I will do whatever I can to help other families. I do believe strongly in graduated driving licensing. I do believe if we had it in this country Laionie would still be alive.'
Pickett, a craftsman with the Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers (REME), was given a 10-month sentence suspended for two years, ordered to carry out 250 hours of unpaid work, and banned from driving for two years.
Dorset police have been approached for comment. The CPS declined to comment.
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