Teenage girl killed in 113mph crash after Seat Ibiza driver’s ‘grossly dangerous manoeuvre’

Leon Callaghan, 19, lost control of a Seat Ibiza in the early hours of the morning - teenager Demi-Leigh Davies was left with catastrophic crush injuries and tragically died

23:11, 28 Jun 2026

Demi-Leigh Davies(Image: Lancashire Police / SWNS)

A teenage girl was killed when a foolish driver careered his car[1] into a motorway central reservation at speeds of more than 100mph.

Demi-Leigh Davies, 17, suffered catastrophic crush injuries and died in hospital. A court heard Leon Callaghan, 19, had lost control[2] of a Seat Ibiza and ploughed it into the central reservation of the M65.

But Callaghan was, this week, jailed for five years and three months after he admitted causing death by dangerous driving. A judge said Callaghan carried out a "grossly dangerous manoeuvre" by reaching 113mph on the motorway near Burnley, Lancashire.

Sentencing the motorist, Judge Robert Altham said: "What has caused this young woman's death is your choice, that rather than face the mild inconvenience of rerouting, you decided to undertake a grossly dangerous manoeuvre.

You had your foot literally to the floor."

Leon Callaghan was jailed(Image: Lancashire Police / SWNS)

Speaking after Demi-Leigh's death in October 2024, her heartbroken mother said she had lost her "world". Two other young women, aged 17 and 19, were also in the car at time of the crash. They suffered serious injuries, but have since recovered.

Callaghan, from Darwen, Lancashire, was just 17 at the time of the crash.

The judge said the teenager had shown limited remorse for his actions, blaming external factors instead of accepting responsibility. He told police his foot had got stuck between the pedals, which caused the excessive speed.

Sitting at Preston Crown Court, the judge described Demi-Leigh as a "funny, lively young woman" by the judge. She had just been offered her first job at a care home and had a promising future ahead of her.

"You were responsible for yourself and four other young lives that night," the judge said to Callaghan, who was 17 at the time of the incident, which occurred when he had been driving a group of friends home after spending the evening in Manchester with his partner and a friend.

Later, the group picked up Demi-Leigh, who sat in the rear of the car behind the driver, said Sarah Magill, prosecuting.

At around 3:31am, a passenger in the car filmed the speedometer on a mobile phone.

It showed the car travelling at 114mph on the eastbound carriageway of the M65.

The accident took place just minutes later when Callaghan approached junction nine. He was still travelling at 113mph when he was in the exit lane of the motorway.

Callaghan then tried to steer back onto the main carriageway, crossing hatched markings and solid white lines at the "bullnose" where the lanes divide, said Ms Magill.

Callaghan lost control. The car skidded into the central reservation and skated back towards the hard shoulder.

Then, the vehicle struck the barrier and rolled several times before coming to rest on the embankment.

Crushed bodywork protruded into the cabin from which the three rear-seat passengers, none of whom were wearing seatbelts, had been thrown.

Demi-Leigh's mother said she lost her 'world(Image: Lancashire Police / SWNS)

Passing motorists spotted the awful wreckage and turned off at the next junction before doubling back. They found nobody inside the car at the scene of the crash, which they reached within minutes.

Covered in blood, Callaghan approached them and asked them to call an ambulance, before helping point out where his friends had landed.

Demi-Leigh was found by one of the people who helped, a man who was a trained first aider. He started CPR on Demi-Leigh, who was found lying in long grass on an embankment.

She was in cardiac arrest when paramedics arrived at around 3:51am.

Police were already at the scene.

Invasive resuscitation attempts were made, but Demi-Leigh was pronounced dead at Royal Blackburn Hospital at 5am.

She had suffered catastrophic crush injuries, including rib fractures which penetrated a lung, multiple lacerations to internal organs, and fractures to her pelvis, spine and other bones, according to a post-mortem examination.

The cause of death was given as severe blood loss due to traumatic injuries.

It was found in analysis of the Seat Ibiza that it had been driven at up to 127-129mph, effectively at its limit. It had a stopping distance of around 145m from that speed.

Callaghan suggested he may have passed out while driving as he could not remember driving at such speed.

In a victim personal statement, Demi-Leigh's mum described her daughter as "beautiful, funny, caring and selfless".

Her family had been given a "life sentence of grief", she said. She spoke of the pain of knowing Demi-Leigh would not get the chance to grow into an adult, or achieve key moments of her life.

She said: "There are no words that can truly describe the pain of losing a child.

Every day I wake up with the reality that my daughter is gone.

"Every day I am reminded that I will never hear her voice again, never hear her laugh again, never be able to hold her again or hear her call me mum.

"As a family, we will never see Demi become the woman she was meant to be. We will never see her progress in the career she had just begun.

"We will never see her achieve her dreams, fall in love, get married, or have children of her own.

"We will never know what her future would have looked like because it was taken from her before she had the chance to live it.

"Demi was only beginning her journey into adulthood. She had her whole future ahead of her.

"That future was stolen from her, and our family has been left to live with that loss every single day.

"Nothing can undo the pain and suffering that her death has caused.

We have been given a life sentence of grief, and we will carry that burden for the rest of our lives."

Callaghan had been 7 at the time and of previous good character, said Emma Kehoe, defending.

He was diagnosed with ADHD at 12, the court heard, and more recently with autism. Ms Kehoe said this impacted his decision-making.

She added that Callaghan had held a provisional licence from the age of 16. He had been driving for some time before passing his test on his 17th birthday.

This meant she had more experience behind the wheel than most drivers his age, she said.

Careless Callaghan, who is now a father and expects a second child later this year, was sentenced to five years and three months' detention in a young offenders' institution.

He was also slapped with a nine-year and one-month driving ban.

He must pass an extended re-test before he can drive again.

Detective Constable Olivia Maidment, of Lancashire Police, said: "Demi Leigh was clearly a much-loved young woman with her whole life ahead of her and my thoughts today are with all of her loved ones.

"Nothing can ever compensate for the loss of a life, but I hope at least that this sentence gives Demi Leigh's family some sense that justice has been done."

References

1. ^ careered his car (www.mirror.co.uk)
2. ^ lost control (www.mirror.co.uk)