‘Breathtakingly dangerous’ 146mph show-off driver killed 20-year-old woman in horrific crash

A speeding driver was branded 'breathtakingly dangerous' by a judge as he was sentenced for a crash which killed a 20-year-old girl. Declan Stubbs crashed his Ford Fiesta ST on the A189 Spine Road on Saturday August 20, 2022. Stubbs had responded to a request for a lift from Teegan Waters during a night out in Blyth, Northumberland.

The 20-year-old front seat passenger, who Stubbs was in the early stages of a blossoming romance with, suffered fatal injuries while two teenage friends in the back were badly injured. Newcastle Crown Court[1] heard that Teegan had been out socialising in Blyth and she bumped into two friends, David Goward, and Mark Chrisp, at Dejavu nightclub. Teegan contacted Stubbs in the early hours asking for a lift and he went to the club for a time, dancing and socialising with Teegan before they left together, ChronicleLive[2] reports.

Teegan, 20, from Blyth, who was heading home with Stubbs as they planned to spend the following day together, got in the front passenger seat and David, 18 and Mark, 19, who were heading to a party, got in the back.

Stubbs drove south on the A189 to Moor Farm services before rejoining the dual carriageway and heading back north. Jolyon Perks, prosecuting, said: "Mr Goward said he didn't notice the car revving to excess but after a short while he looked up from his phone and he saw 148mph on the speedometer. Mr Chrisp thought he saw 150 or 157mph." He asked him to slow down but was told "not to worry and to chill".

Mr Perks said: "Seconds later the defendant lost control of that vehicle." The Fiesta hit the central barrier, went up an embankment, took out a tree and rolled several times before coming to rest in a field. David managed to climb out of a rear window but everyone else was unconscious. He pulled Mark out and tried to remove Teegan but was unable to do so due to the amount of damage the car had suffered.

He was unable to detect a pulse on Teegan and she had suffered unsurvivable injuries. David suffered fractures to his sternum and elbow and had air in his chest wall, bruising to his eye, cuts to his ear, skull and hand and a laceration to his arm. Mark had fractures to his spine and needed an operation to insert rods which will be there for life and continue to cause pain.

GPS data from the car showed that as he entered a right hand bend before losing control, he was doing 146mph. He had also been driving at excessive speed before that, including doing 90mph in a 50mph zone on the A193, up to 100mph on the 50mph limit A1061 and 139mph on the A189 on the way to Moor Farm services. When Stubbs was interviewed by police, he said he was doing "72 or something" and said his driving was "good as far as I can remember".

His breath test was negative and while cannabis and cocaine were detected in his system, they were well below the limit for driving. Teegan's mum, Lindsay Waters, who felt unable to attend the hearing, said in a victim impact statement she was left with "overwhelming grief" at the loss of her daughter, who, she said, loved to dance and would have loved to have been a dance teacher if she had the opportunity. She added: "She was the most beautiful, kind and thoughtful girl who always put others first and had the biggest and brightest smile.

She would light up the room with her presence. She was so loved by everyone who knew her. "This is something no one should go through or experience.

The only feeling I have now is numbness. Having to relive events every day is emotionally and physically draining. "I've attempted suicide because I felt this was the only way I could be with Teegs again.

All I'm left with now is the memory of my beautiful girl and the dreams when she comes to visit." She added that Teegan's dad, Chris, "struggles to even say her name" and sleeps in her bed to feel close to her. Lindsay said: "The impact of losing his baby girl will never sit right in his mind and he can't come to terms with his loss.

"As a family, we will never get over the loss of Teegs. There will always be an empty bedroom and an empty chair. We are truly broken and life will never be the same."

The court heard Stubbs has no previous convictions but was caught speeding in excess of a 50mph limit on a motorway in 2021. The 22-year-old, of Admiral Court, Blyth, pleaded guilty to causing death by dangerous driving and two counts of causing serious injury by dangerous driving. He was jailed for nine years and eight months, of which he must serve up to two-thirds in prison.

He will be banned from driving for five years after his release. Judge Julie Clemitson said: "The circumstances were tragic and utterly needless but you didn't set out to hurt anyone, let alone kill anyone. Quite the contrary, you were giving your passengers a lift and taking the girl you wanted to have a relationship with home.

"I've no doubt you have wished you could turn back the clock and regret bitterly what you did that night. I have no doubt you will be haunted beyond regret for the rest of your life." After outlining the injuries caused, the judge told Stubbs: "These were the consequences of you choosing to drive at breathtakingly dangerous speeds in he pitch-black in a fully-laden car.

I can think of no reason for you driving in that way other than you were showing off." The judge added that references speak of Stubbs as a kind and caring young man and he helps his younger brother, who has a range of difficulties. Andrew Walker, defending, said: "Nothing I say is intended to, nor could it possibly, detract from the loss to the family as a result of what happened in August last year."

Mr Walker said Stubbs had no plans to drive that night until asked for a lift and did not drink while in the nightclub. He added: "His decision to speed will forever haunt him. He can't recall it, he can't explain it, he will forever regret it.

"He is remorseful and still distraught.

He acknowledges it means very little when there's such a loss caused by his actions.

"He suffered fractured vertebrae in his neck but he knows that means nothing when there's such a loss." Mr Walker added that Stubbs has since been diagnosed with autism, no longer drives and doesn't go out as he doesn't consider it appropriate.

References

1. ^ Newcastle Crown Court (www.chroniclelive.co.uk)
2. ^ ChronicleLive (www.chroniclelive.co.uk)