Latest news with #StevieSteel
The Sun
6 days ago
- The Sun
Mum whose baby boy was thrown from car window after she drank rosé on beach & didn't strap him in properly avoids jail
A MUM has avoided jail after her baby boy was thrown from a car window and killed as he had not been properly strapped into his seat. Morgan Kiely, then 19, had been drinking rosé wine with her friend Stevie Steel at Clacton Beach when she got into her pal's Ford Focus with her six-month-old son Harry on July 13, 2022. 3 3 3 However, as they drove away, the car rolled over and ended up on its roof. In the process of flipping, Harry was thrown from his seat, leaving the vehicle through an open window. He later died that night from "unsurvivable" injuries, including a skull fracture. Today, Kiely - now aged 22 - was handed a two-year suspended prison sentence after being found guilty of manslaughter by gross negligence. Steel also previously admitted causing death by careless driving while over the drink drive limit. While Kiely chose not to give evidence at her trial, a key witness said it was "highly likely" that the straps of Harry's seat had not been secured. The trial at Chelmsford Crown Court heard how the mum had been a passenger in the front seat of Steel's motor, with Harry in the rear seat directly behind. The pair of adults had met up at about 3pm and bought three bottles of rosé wine on their way to the beach. While on the beach for several hours, they were briefly joined by Mitchell Basssett, Steel's former partner. He offered them a lift from the beach after hearing their plans to continue drinking that evening. However, they refused. Judge Robert Jay said: "Alarm bells should have been ringing in your head at that point. "You knew how much Stevie had drunk. You could and should have taken up Mitchell's offer. "A mother should not agree to travel with a drunk driver." The court heard that a distracted Steel hit a parked car while driving on Cherry Tree Avenue in the coastal town. Steel's Ford Focus had been travelling within the 30mph speed limit but rolled after hitting the static motor, eventually ending up on its roof. Both women were left hanging upside down by their seatbelts while Harry was thrown from the vehicle through an open window. Judge Jay said: "This was not an accident that was likely to happen. "Maybe 99 times out of 100 the car would not have rolled over at this sort of speed and Harry would have survived." Harry suffered a devastating skull fracture and was treated at the scene for more than an hour before he was rushed to hospital. Members of the public had come to assist at the scene, including a paediatric nurse. Despite the best efforts of medical crew to save his life at the hospital, he tragically died at about 9pm that evening. In the trial, the jury reviewed a 999 call from the scene, an officer's bodycam footage, an expert witness who explained how the child car seat worked, and evidence from Mr Bassett. Judge Jay told Kiely: "Harry's safety was your responsibility. It should have been your primary concern that day." He said her negligent conduct that day was a lapse in her otherwise good care of Harry. "I think that it is obvious to everyone in this courtroom that you were a very good mother to Harry in all respects, and that this was a singleton failure," the judge said. The court heard Kiely had given up her job as a carer and now has a four-month-old baby. Benjamin Summers, defending, had read out statements to the court describing Kiely as a "devoted and loving mother" to Harry, and who was "deeply caring". The court heard she had taken Harry on trips to Liverpool and Scotland in his short life to visit relatives, and had recently returned to work as a carer. The jury heard from an expert witness earlier in the trial about the child car seat and how it is designed to work. The witness said it was highly unlikely but not impossible the straps of the seat had been secured in the car. Mr Summers said: "Dreadful, dreadful, dreadful error, it was, but, we say, not making her grossly negligent at the time. "We say it is not as simple as saying the failure to secure a child in a car seat, full stop, is enough."
Daily Mail
6 days ago
- Daily Mail
Mother, 19, is guilty of manslaughter after her six-month-old baby was thrown from car in crash after not being strapped into seat properly
A mother has been found guilty of manslaughter after her six-month-old baby was thrown from a car having not been strapped into his seat properly. Morgan Kiely, then 19, had been drinking wine and 'relaxing' at Clacton beach in Essex with a friend, Stevie Steel, alongside her young son Harry Kiely on July 13, 2022. However as they drove away, the car rolled and ended up on its roof - sending Harry flying from his seat through an open window. The baby boy tragically died later that night from 'unsurvivable' injuries sustained from the crash, including a skull fracture. Prosecutor Mr Alex Stein previously told Chelmsford Crown Court that the youngster had not been 'properly' strapped into the car seat during the drive from the beach to his grandmother's house. Harry was sitting in a child seat in the back of the car behind his mother while Steel drove. Now, Kiely, aged 22, has been convicted of manslaughter by gross negligence and given a two-year suspended jail sentence. Kiely and Steel were previously said to had planned to drop Harry at Kiely's mum's house before heading to Wetherspoons. Speaking to the court, a key witness said it was 'highly likely' that the straps of Harry's seat had not been secured. Mr Stein added: 'That car seat had not been properly strapped in and more significantly he [Harry] had not been strapped into the seat itself properly.' He explained that Steel was distracted and hit a parked car, the car ended up on its roof and Harry was 'thrown or fell' out the car window. The court was told that Ms Steel, of Crayford, Kent, previously admitted causing death by dangerous driving by due care while over the prescribed limit. Kiely had been the passenger in a Ford Focus belonging to Steel when the crash occurred. Steel was said to have become distracted while driving, causing the car to hit a parked car on Cherry Tree Avenue. The vehicle, which had been travelling within the 30mph speed limit, rolled and ended up on its roof. Describing the devastation of the crash, Mr Stein said said the two women had been 'left hanging upside down, held in by their seatbelts'. 'He landed on the tarmac and as a young infant he had no way of protecting himself,' he added. 'He suffered a devastating skull fracture. It's a very, very sad case.' An Isofix Maxi-Cosi car seat and base had initially been installed in Kiely's grandmother's car. The car seat without the base was placed in Steel's car when she picked up Kiely and Harry at around 3pm on July 13, the court heard. Kiely and Steel had bought three bottles of Prosecco at Aldi while on their way to the beach in Clacton with young Harry. Aged 19 at the time, Kiely bought two bottles of wine and Steel bought one. The pair were described as being 'just a bit tipsy and happy'. They spent several hours on the beach and were briefly joined by Steel's ex-boyfriend Mitchell Bassett. He offered them a lift to the pub having heard their plans to continue drinking but they declined and chose to drive themselves. Addressing Kiely, Judge Robert Jay said: 'Alarm bells should have been ringing in your head at that point. 'You knew how much Stevie had drunk. You could and should have taken up Mitchell's offer. 'A mother should not agree to travel with a drunk driver.' Judge Jay described the fatal crash as 'not an accident that was likely waiting to happen'. He added that 'maybe 99 times out of 100 the car would not have rolled over at this sort of speed and Harry would have survived'. After hearing the collision, neighbours rushed to the scene, including a retired paediatric nurse who spoke to the 999 call handler and provided some of the immediate care towards Harry. Kiely was said to have been heard saying 'my baby, my baby, is my baby okay'. Emergency services rushed to the scene where they treated Harry for more than an hour. He was later rushed to hospital before being sadly declared dead just after 9pm. During the trial, the jury reviewed a 999 call from the scene, an officer's bodycam footage, an expert witness who explained how the child car seat worked, and evidence from Mr Bassett. Jurors deliberated for an estimated five hours over the course of two days before a guilty verdict of manslaughter was eventually reached. Addressing Kiely, Judge Jay said: 'Harry's safety was your responsibility. It should have been your primary concern that day.' He added that her negligent conduct that day was a lapse in her otherwise good care of Harry. 'I think that it is obvious to everyone in this courtroom that you were a very good mother to Harry in all respects, and that this was a singleton failure,' the judge said. Meanwhile, the court also heard that since the crash, Kiely had given up her job as a carer and now has a four-month-old baby. Benjamin Summers, defending, read out statements to the court which described Kiely as a 'devoted and loving mother' to Harry, who was 'deeply caring'. She was said to have taken Harry on trips to Liverpool and Scotland in his short life to visit relatives, and had recently returned to work prior to his tragic death. An expert witness earlier in the trial spoke about the child car seat and how it is designed to work, explaining that it was highly unlikely but not impossible that the straps of the seat had been secured in the car. Mr Summers said that while Kiely's behaviour had been a 'dreadful, dreadful, dreadful error', he did not believe it made her 'grossly negligent at the time.' He added: 'We say it is not as simple as saying the failure to secure a child in a car seat, full stop, is enough.'
The Sun
22-07-2025
- The Sun
Baby boy killed after being thrown from car window ‘because mum drank rosé on beach and didn't strap him in properly'
A BABY boy died after being thrown from a car window because he was not strapped in properly, a court was told. Mum Morgan Kiely, then 19, had been drinking at Clacton beach in Essex with a friend and her young son Harry on July 13, 2022. 3 3 However as they drove away, the car rolled and ended up on its roof - and six-month-old Harry was thrown from his seat through an open window. He died later that night from 'unsurvivable' injuries including a skull fracture. Kiely has denied manslaughter as prosecutors said Harry had not been strapped in his car seat properly. Chelmsford Crown Court heard Kiely was the passenger in a Ford Focus belonging to friend Stevie Steel when the accident happened. Harry was in a rear seat behind his mother. Steel, of Crayford, Kent, has previously admitted causing death by careless driving while over the drink drive limit. Alex Stein, prosecuting, said the young women were driving back from Clacton beach at about 6.30pm when the crash happened. They had met up at about 3pm and bought three bottles of Prosecco at Aldi on their way to the beach with Harry. They stayed on the beach for several hours and were briefly joined by a young man they knew. After finishing a bottle of wine, they left the beach together before Steel and Kiely drove away. The court heard Steel was distracted while driving and hit a parked car on Cherry Tree Avenue in Clacton. The Ford Focus rolled and ended up on its roof, and the two girls were left hanging upside down by their seatbelts. Mr Stein said: "Very sadly, that child's seat had not been strapped properly into the seatbelt, and Harry hadn't been strapped into the seat properly. "Harry was thrown out of the open window out of his seat. "He suffered a devastating skull fracture. It is a very, very sad case." Mr Stein said Harry landed on the road and had no way to break his fall. Members of the public rushed to help, including a retired paediatric nurse. Harry was treated at the scene for more than an hour before he was taken to hospital, where staff continued to try to save him, but he died at about 9pm. Mr Stein said there was nothing to suggest Kiely wasn't a loving and caring mother to Harry and that everything that could have been done to save him was done in the period after the crash. The trial continues. 3
Telegraph
22-07-2025
- Telegraph
Baby died in car crash after being ‘thrown from seat'
A seven-month-old boy died when he was thrown from a car seat that was allegedly 'not strapped in properly' during a collision. Harry Kiely died from injuries sustained on July 13 in 2022, after his mother Morgan Kiely, then 19, had consumed rose wine during an afternoon at Clacton beach. Chelmsford Crown Court heard that Ms Kiely and her friend Stevie Steel had been 'relaxing in the sunshine' and planned to drive and drop Harry at his grandmother's house before they went to a Wetherspoons pub. A friend offered to take the women and Harry in his car but Ms Kiely and Ms Steel, both described as 'a bit tipsy', went on to drive themselves. Ms Kiely, now 22, is accused of manslaughter by gross negligence, which she denies. The court was told that Ms Steel, 23, of Dartford, had previously admitted causing death by dangerous driving by due care while over the prescribed limit. Prosecutor Mr Alex Stein told jurors that Ms Kiely was the passenger in a car driven by Ms Steel, with Harry in a child seat in the back of the car, sat behind his mother. Mr Stein claimed: 'That car seat had not been properly strapped in and more significantly he [Harry] had not been strapped into the seat itself properly.' He detailed that Ms Steel became distracted, hit a parked car and the car rolled and Harry was thrown out of the car through an open window. Mr Stein added: 'He landed on the tarmac and as a young infant he had no way of protecting himself,' Mr Stein added. 'He suffered a devastating skull fracture. It's a very, very sad case.' Chelmsford Crown Court heard that Ms Kiely and Harry had been picked up by Ms Steel at around 3pm on July 13. They went to the beach but stopped via Aldi on their way where they bought three bottles of rose. 'Tipsy and happy' at time of driving Ms Kiely and Ms Steel were described as being 'just a bit tipsy and happy'. Their plan was that Harry would be at Ms Kiely's mum's home whilst they went to the pub. At the time of the collision, Harry was in a child seat at the rear of the car with his mum in front of him and Ms Steel driving, there was 'no suggestion' that the car had been speeding. The car carrying Harry hit the corner of a parked vehicle, ending up on its roof and Harry was 'thrown or fell' out the nearside window. Chelmsford Crown Court heard Kiely 'loved her child' and there is 'no evidence to suggest that she was anything other than a loving and caring mother'. Mr Stein added: 'Whatever happened that day she certainly did not mean for it to happen.' A 999 call made to emergency services after the collision was played to jurors. During this Ms Kiely was said to have been heard saying 'my baby, my baby, is my baby okay'. Emergency services attended but Harry was declared dead at just after 9pm on July 13. Mr Stein said: 'We will anticipate that she [Kiely] thought she had secured Harry properly. 'No parent would want to admit to themselves that they were the cause of their own child's death, but the evidence we say is quite clear that she failed to look after Harry properly that day.' Kiely, of Ryde Avenue in Clacton, is accused of manslaughter by gross negligence. She denies the charge. The trial continues.
