A young drink driver killed her close friend when she sped off after being warned to slow down. Yasmin Martin was travelling at more than twice the speed limit and nearly twice the drink-drive limit at the time of the horrific crash.
The 19-year-old, who was 17 at the time, had decided to give three friends a ride home from a night out in a car he had never driven before. A court heard how Martin reacted angrily when Mia Marsh and another girl begged him to slow down.
He lost control on a bend while travelling at more than 70mph in a 30mph zone. Martin crashed the car into a barrier, killing 17-year-old Mia, Chronicle Live reports.
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Martin had known Mia since the pair were little, Newcastle Crown Court heard. One passenger said Martin wanted to prove he could drive dangerously, saying it was ‘as if he was invincible, as if he could do whatever he wanted and as if there was no one else to stop him’.
Mia’s family attended Newcastle Crown Court wearing T-shirts showing a photograph of the tragic teenager as Martin, of Aldwych Road, Sunderland, was sentenced to eight years in prison. Her mother Danielle felt unable to attend the hearing but a victim impact statement was read to the court outlining her devastating loss.
‘I feel like I’m stuck in a nightmare that I can’t wake up from,’ she said, adding: ‘The pain we’ve experienced as a family is unimaginable.’ She said they sometimes imagine Mia has just woken up, ‘but then reality hits at a million miles an hour.’
Danielle said: “We want him here and now. We don’t want him as a memory. We still think one day he’ll come back, jumping through the door, singing and being as joyful as he used to be.
“We miss Mia so incredibly, our hearts are broken forever. Mia was only 17 when she was tragically taken from us. She had her whole life ahead of her to look forward to. You never know what it feels like to lose a child or a sister until it happens to you.”
She added: “Because of her injuries, no one was allowed to identify her and she had to be buried in a closed casket. This made me wonder if she was really Mia and if it was a terrible mistake… Until we meet again, we will love Mia unconditionally baby. I love you so much Mia.”
Martin, who passed his driving test in May 2022, was driving a Vauxhall Astra that his father had hired that day. He had no driving experience until the evening of Friday, December 2, 2022, and was not insured to do so.
Martin, who had known Mia since kindergarten and considered her his best friend at the time, took her and two friends to six bars in Sunderland and went drinking, all drinking Strongbow dark berries, Jagerbombs, vodka and Red Bull.
An employee at one of the bars where Martin said his car was parked nearby said, “I hope you’re not driving,” because it was obvious to him that he was intoxicated and incapable of driving. He said he was not driving and ordered a drink.
At 12.47pm Martin walked towards the car but was prevented from sitting in the driver’s seat and told to move to the back. Mia drove. After stopping to refuel, Martin took over the car after becoming ‘agitated’ by the fact Mia was driving.
The other two girls said Martin was driving too fast. None of them were wearing seat belts and one of the girls told the others to wear them because of the way Martin was driving.
Mia and one of the other girls shouted at Martin to slow down, but he ignored their requests and instead increased his speed, appearing annoyed when told to slow down. One girl said he sped up and ‘proved he could drive like that’ and ‘acted like he didn’t care’, ‘like he was invincible, like he could do whatever he wanted and there was no one else stopping him’.
The collision occurred while travelling westbound on the A1231 between the Spire Bridge and Queen Alexander Bridge. After failing to negotiate a large left-hand bend, the car understeered onto the wrong side of the road and hit a barrier, bouncing back and falling 180 metres down the road.
Mia’s family asked for CCTV footage of the collision to be played in court, and it was. A photograph was later shown showing the condition of the car. Mia died from severe head injuries sustained when the car hit the barrier.
CCTV showed the Astra travelling at 64 to 67mph 500 metres from the collision and travelling at 75 to 80mph when it left the westbound lane and crossed the centre lane. The speed limit was 30mph.
Investigations showed that the accident was caused by Martin driving at excessive speeds while under the influence of alcohol – almost twice the drink-drive limit.
Following his arrest, he claimed an ‘old man’ had drugged his drink, but CCTV scans of the bars he attended proved this to be a lie. Martin was found guilty of causing death by dangerous driving and sentenced to eight years in prison, two-thirds of which he must serve in custody. He will be banned from driving for five years after his release.
Judge Christopher Prince said Martin told the author of the pre-sentence report that she got into the car knowing the other girls had been drinking. But he said: “They didn’t know you would drive like that. They expected you to look after them well.”
Defence barrister Matthew Bean said: “Yasmin Martin accepts full responsibility for what happened that day. Mia Marsh was her best friend at the time and she will have to live with the fact that she caused her death.”
“He feels real remorse for what he did. He regrets his decision and he will have to live with it for the rest of his life and the pain and suffering he caused Mia’s family.”
Mr Bean said Martin had an 11-month-old daughter, who he was the sole carer of, and that her grandmother would now look after her while he was in prison. He added: “He wishes he could turn back time and make up for the wrong he did.”