A newly qualified driver has been sentenced to two years' detention for killing three other teenagers in a horrific head-on crash. Edward Spencer, who was 17 at the time of the crash, reportedly had a history of speeding, "showing off" and bad driving. The teenager, now 19, also left two young children and their stepmother with life-changing injuries.
Spencer lost control of his Ford Fiesta while speeding at 64mph on a country road near Shipston-on-Stour in Warwickshire. A judge sitting at Warwick Crown Court described his actions as "pure folly". Spencer changed his plea at a previous hearing to admit causing the deaths of 17-year-old Harry Purcell and 16-year-olds Tilly Seccombe and Frank Wormald by careless driving.
The 19-year-old also pleaded guilty to three counts of causing serious injury after crashing into an oncoming car while driving home from Chipping Campden School in Gloucestershire in April 2023.
Two young children in the other car that he collided with suffered life-changing injuries, while their stepmother was knocked unconscious and also badly hurt.
Judge Andrew Lockhart KC was told Spencer only passed his driving test six weeks earlier, but social media videos exposed a history of "showing off, driving too quickly and failing to heed the warnings of those who were in the car with him".
It also emerged that Tilly had previously sent a message on social media to Spencer complaining about his driving but he had responded that she had "underestimated" him.
The judge told Spencer his previous poor driving meant that there was a "terrible inevitability" about the "catastrophic" crash. He added that the social media evidence, including video of Spencer passing a mobility scooter at more than 50mph, “is disturbing material”.
He added: “It seriously aggravates the position you find yourself in.”
"This is material that is indisputable, largely captured on video. There is here clear and crystal clear evidence of previous poor driving."
The crash was caused by a "lethal combination" of an excessive speed and a failure to drive to the road conditions, the judge said.
