Kettering teenager's brief loss of focus caused crash which killed friend

"How do we live without him?"

The words of a heartbroken mum whose son died in a tragic crash near Kettering.

Charlie Owen, 18, was a front seat passenger in a black Fiat Punto which hit a tree after clipping a grass verge.

Yesterday (December 7) his friend who was behind the wheel, Callum Trivett, was sentenced to a community order after admitting causing his death by careless driving.

A packed courtroom at Northampton Magistrates’ Court heard the devastating sequence of events on October 29 last year.

Trivett, 19, and Charlie, who was affectionately known as Flump, had been out together and were going to meet up with other friends.

Prosecutor Andy Hopkinson told the court that they travelled down Pytchley Lane, between Kettering and Pytchley, when the front left wheel struck the grass kerb and caused it to lose control at about 10.15pm.

He said: "Unfortunately once the front wheel had effectively come into contact with the verge it was impossible for the vehicle to be recovered."

The car hit a number of tree roots and became airborne before striking a tree, rotating and rolling before coming to rest by a hedge.

Trivett, of Ostlers Way in Kettering, extricated himself from the car with minor injuries and ran to a nearby house, banging on the door and asking them to call 999. Charlie had suffered a fatal head injury.

Police arrived and arrested Trivett before taking him into custody.

Mr Hopkinson said: "He said that he took his eyes off the road momentarily to check the speedometer."

A forensic collision investigation found that the crash was not caused by excessive speed and that he was not distracted by a phone or under the influence of drink or drugs.

Mr Hopkinson added: "A brief loss of focus is to have resulted in these tragic consequences."

Charlie’s friends and family, who wore hoodies with Flump written on them, cried as Mr Hopkinson read out a victim statement from the teenager’s mum Kelly.

In it she said their worlds fell apart on the night Charlie died. She said Charlie was her best friend and soulmate, that she doesn’t want to make memories without him and that every day is a battle.

The statement said: "I know accidents happen but it does not change the fact my son is not coming back.”

Mitigating, John Heaton said Trivett, who wore a blue suit in the dock and wiped tears from his face, is always going to have to live with what happened.

He said the apprentice mechanic took his eyes off the road momentarily and pleaded guilty at the first opportunity, adding that a community order was appropriate rather than locking someone up who had 'made a terrible mistake with terrible consequences'.

Mr Heaton said: "He feels remorse. He blames himself. He wishes he could scroll back and that this had not happened."

Chairman of the bench Mark Bate offered his sympathies to Charlie’s friends and family and said no sentence could begin to compensate for their loss.

Trivett was sentenced to a 12-month community order with 200 hours of unpaid work.

He was banned from driving until a retest has been completed, which cannot be taken for a minimum of 12 months.