3 days ago
Girl, 15, killed at a pedestrian crossing by 'show off' driver - just months after she had a life-saving kidney transplant
A 15-year-old girl was killed at a pedestrian crossing by a 'show off' driver just months after she was given a kidney transplant to save her life.
Schoolgirl Keely Morgan had 'so much to give' after the transplant - and was described by her heartbroken mother as 'brave and courageous'.
But she was struck at the crossing by Christopher West, 42, who claimed he 'hadn't seen' Keely when he knocked her down.
West's two daughters and a friend were in the back of his car when, before setting off, he turned to his children and said: 'Shall I remove the black box?' before doing so.
His passengers described him driving 'a little fast' and 'snaking' the Vauxhall Astra in the journey from Barry to Cardiff before he struck Keely.
In a victim personal statement, the teenager's mother Sian Morgan said: 'Keely was only 15 years old when she was struck and killed by a car at a pedestrian crossing, a place she should have been safe, just making her way home.
'This tragedy has shattered my family beyond repair and is a loss we will carry for the rest of our lives.'
In a victim personal statement, the teenager's mother Sian Morgan (pictured) said: 'Keely was only 15 years old when she was struck and killed by a car at a pedestrian crossing, a place she should have been safe, just making her way home'
Ms Morgan said Keely had been given a 'second chance of life' aged 13 when she received a kidney transplant.
She 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.
'She had so much love to give. She was truly an incredible person with promise and a future ahead of her.'
Her mother said 'no words' could describe the pain of losing Keely.
'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.
'The world is a darker place without her. The trauma of losing her in a sudden, violent, but preventable way haunts us.'
She told West: '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.
'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.'
A previous hearing was told a collision investigator estimated West was driving at 38 mph when he struck Keely in the 30mph zone.
Emergency services were called to the scene in Caerau, Cardiff, but Keely was tragically pronounced dead.
A post mortem examination found she tragically died from blunt force injuries following the crash in May 2023.
West, of Ely, Cardiff, will be sentenced at Cardiff Crown Court on Thursday.
