Mums of three boys killed by hit-and-run driver declare 'Drink driving deaths are not accidents - they're murder' (10 Pics)
Hand in hand, three mums stand tall with the boys who caught their sons’ callous hit-and-run killer.
They are united in grief and have one wish – justice for the lads they lost.
The lives of Nicola Sales-Rice, Tracy Blackwell and Sarah Baker were shattered one freezing day in January.
Harry Rice, 17, Josh McGuinness, 16, and George Wilkinson, 16, were on their way to a birthday party when they were killed instantly by a speeding driver who was drunk and high on cannabis.
Kai Priestley, 17, and Lewis White, 16, survived – and chased down Jaynesh Chudasama, 28, and his passenger as they tried to flee their wrecked Audi.
Today the teenagers and mums demand stiffer sentences for dangerous drivers who take lives.
Josh’s mother Tracy said: “If you get into a car when you’re drunk and you cause a death, that death is premeditated. You know that you could kill yourself and kill others.
“If you still do it, it’s not an accident, it’s murder. Chudasama has only been given 13 years which would be the sentence for one killing in this way. It’s as if two of our boys lives didn’t matter.
“We are devastated but so are Lewis and Kai and they are here to speak for their friends who no longer have a voice.
Nicola Sales, 38, mother of Harry Rice, with daughter Emily Rice, 13
“They caught the killer when they had only narrowly missed the same fate as our boys and their bravery will stay with us always.
Now we want the lives of our boys and the bravery of their friends to be honoured – and for killers to get the sentences they deserve. Together we have hope we can make a change.”
Tracy told Chudasama to “rot in hell” as he was sentenced to 13 years at the Old Bailey last Wednesday. The court heard he drove “like a bat out of hell” through Hayes, West London.
He overtook a car, misjudged the manoeuvre and hit Harry, George and Josh at 71mph.
Josh was sent flying into an adjacent cemetery. George was flung into the road, while Harry was carried along on the bonnet of the Audi until it crashed into a wall.
Stunned Kai and Lewis reacted instinctively. In a harrowing recollection, Kai said: “We were walking, then we heard this big bang, then silence.
We knew Josh, George and Harry were dead. It was terrible. I remember Lewis being in front of me and the other three, Harry, Josh and George, were to the right, nearest to the road.”
Trainee electrician Lewis said of the Audi pair: “They started running so we chased them.
We detained the driver and walked back with him so he didn’t go anywhere. The police praised us. They said it would have been difficult to catch them.”
Harry’s mum Nicola, 38, said: “We are really thankful to the boys. The driver would have absconded.
He could still be out there and on the roads.” Sarah added: “It breaks my heart because they have to live with what they’ve seen and I think they feel survivor’s guilt.”
Both teenagers have had problems sleeping and walking near busy roads. Kai’s mum Christine, 49, said: “He struggles to understand why it wasn’t him that was killed and what he could have done to stop it.”
Lewis wakes up in cold sweats after dreaming about the crash. His mum Kellie, 38, said: “He’s so exhausted and quiet.
He doesn’t want to go near the crash site any more because that’s the road that killed his friends.”
Kai and Lewis were pall bearers for their lost pals at first George’s funeral, then Josh and Harry’s farewell.
George’s mum Sarah, a carer, said: “It was devastating to watch. I just felt numb .” She said she copes by “just living in the mom- ent... I’m pretending he’s at his dad’s.”
Sarah had sobbed as she read her impact statement in court, saying: “The awful night that my son was taken will haunt me for life.”
Harry’s dad Ian, 70, has told how the boys “were wonderful... just having fun living their lives”.
Mums Nicola and Tracy have had their sons’ name tattooed on their hand. “That’s all you can kiss, you know,” says Tracy, placing her lips lightly on Josh’s name.
The families say Chudasama’s sentence does not reflect the devastation he caused to their lives.
The maximum sentence for death by dangerous driving is 14 years. A law that would lift that to a life sentence is waiting to go through Parliament.
Harry’s dad Ian, 70, has told how the boys “were wonderful... just having fun living their lives”.
Mums Nicola and Tracy have had their sons’ name tattooed on their hand. “That’s all you can kiss, you know,” says Tracy, placing her lips lightly on Josh’s name.
The families say Chudasama’s sentence does not reflect the devastation he caused to their lives.
The maximum sentence for death by dangerous driving is 14 years. A law that would lift that to a life sentence is waiting to go through Parliament.
Mums of three boys killed by hit-and-run driver declare 'Drink driving deaths are not accidents - they're murder' (10 Pics)
Reviewed by Your Destination
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April 02, 2018
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Reviewed by Your Destination
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April 02, 2018
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