Picture: Cumbria Police
A speeding car driver threw away dashcam footage of him causing a cause which killed a teenage girl.
Tony Packenham was driving above the 60-mph limit when his Range Rover Defender ploughed into a Citroën.
Catriona Messenger was driving the car with her two daughters Erikka, 15, and Ingrid,13 as passengers.
Ingrid died in the crash.
Picture: Cumbria Police. Ingrid Messenger
Her mother was unable to walk for three months after breaking her pelvis and sister Erikka had a broken shoulder.
Packerham, 47, later admitted to the police that he’d taken the memory card out of his dashcam and threw it away.
Carlisle Crown Court heard he’d driven his Land Rover “at speed” towards a crossroads when he hit the Citroën and a Mercedes Sprinter van.
If he had been driving at the 60mph limit the crash would not have happened.
Ingrid’s family said in a statement:
“We would like to take this as another opportunity to share our appreciation and our gratitude to all the people who were involved in helping us on the 18th of February 2019 and all who have helped and supported us thereafter.
“How lucky are we to have emergency services filled with courageous people.
“How fortunate are we to have surgeons, doctors, nurses and physios to fix us and care for us when it is needed.
“How blessed are we to have family, friends and community to hold us while we heal.
“Perhaps we cannot choose what life brings to us, but we can choose how we respond to it.”
Packenham pleaded guilty to causing death by dangerous driving, two counts of causing serious injury by dangerous driving and attempting to pervert the course of justice.
He was sentenced to four and a half years in prison.
Sergeant Claire Sampson of Cumbria Police said:
“This was a tragic collision that resulted in the unnecessary death of Ingrid, who was much loved by her family and friends.
“Packenham was driving in excess of the speed limit, reducing his ability to react in what is clearly marked as a hazardous environment, therefore having total disregard for the other road users.”
