Boyfriend's desperate plea to drink driver moments before he killed girlfriend
Lillie Clack, 22, died in hospital days after the horror crash after she, her boyfriend and two other pals accepted a lift home from a man who was too drunk to drive following a night out at Winter Wonderland
The boyfriend of a woman killed by a drunk-driver who crashed into a tree while trying to escape a police chase desperately begged the man to stop the vehicle and let them out, an inquest heard.
Lillie Clack, 22, died in hospital days after the horror crash, which happened in the early hours of Christmas Day in 2021 after she, her boyfriend Jack Watson and two other pals enjoyed a night out at Winter Wonderland before visiting a pub. The driver Charlie Hilton, 25, was jailed for ten years and six months in February 2023 after pleading guilty to causing Lillie's death by dangerous driving, three counts of causing serious injury, failing to stop when directed by police and driving above the alcohol limit.
Lillie's mum Debbie today wiped away tears while listening to the evidence at Croydon Town Hall. She sat on the front row of desks in the court, where she placed a framed photo of Lillie in front of her.
In evidence today read out, South London Coroner's Court heard how heartbroken Jack Watson described the chase, telling investigators: "I would describe his manner of driving as dangerous and quick.
"I think I might have said 'what are you doing? Why are you going so fast?
"I was saying to Charlie 'stop the car, let me and Lillie out'. I remember Charlie telling me to 'shut up'. He was not listening.
"I did not want to be in the car, I felt scared as I had been in a crash before. I just felt unsafe."
The police chase, which included Hilton going through a red light and undertaking and overtaking other vehicles at estimated speeds of over 100mph, was terminated by police after they lost sight of the vehicle.
But despite police stopping and turning off their sirens, Hilton carried on speeding before losing control of the car, which rolled over after crossing a railway track before crashing into a tree and setting on fire.
Jack said: "I think police must have called off the chase as Charlie was going too fast."
Five of the six people in the vehicle, including kitchen designer Lillie, were found unconscious by rescuers, who heroically dragged them out of the car and used fire extinguishers to put out the engine fire.
Jack said: "The only memory I have of this is being pulled out on a stretcher. I was in shock. I asked 'where is Lillie?' I remember looking down and seeing Lillie in another stretcher. I knew then what had happened was bad."
Jack told investigators he hadn't realised Hilton was under the influence of alcohol when he offered to drive him, Lillie and three other pals home in his mum's Mercedes in order to avoid pouring rain.
He said: "When I saw Charlie I didn't think he looked drunk. I thought he was sober. I sat on the left side behind the passenger seat. Lillie was in the middle."
Another passenger in the car, Delia Casey, who was then aged 21 and had been close pals with Lillie, of Morden, south London, since school, recalled feeling terrified during the chase.
She said: "The car was driving so fast my memory of the incident is mostly a blur. Everyone was shouting inside the car. There was a lot going on and I was just feeling fearful for everyone in the car. The speed we were going at made me feel terrified."
Delia, who was left seriously injured as a result of the crash, said she had little memory, but did recall Lillie's boyfriend Jack telling the driver: 'If you don't stop I'll beat you up.' She added: "Even after I visited Lillie's tree after the accident, I still had no memory of the crash."
George Leggott, who was sitting behind the driver and next to Lillie, described how he and the other passengers wanted the chase to stop. He said it included an illegal U-turn and several speed cameras being set off before police stopped after losing the car. He said: "Jack was saying: 'Stop the f****** car, stop, they have stopped'. Jack said 'stop the car'. We were all shouting 'stop', but Charlie didn't stop."
Speaking about his memory of the crash, he added: "I woke up on the side of the road. Someone told me I got pulled out by a member of the public. I don't remember this."
The inquest continues.
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