Speeding 'show off', 42, who hit and killed 15-year-old schoolgirl on pedestrian crossing months after she received kidney transplant is jailed for 16 months
Christopher West, 42, smashed into Keely Morgan on a pedestrian crossing in Caerau, Cardiff, at around 9:30pm on May 1, 2023, driving well over the 30mph limit.
West failed to see Keely, despite her being brightly lit by the glow of an iPad she was using while crossing.
The 15-year-old had battled severe health problems for years and undergone a kidney transplant in 2021 that had given her a new lease of life.
At Cardiff Crown Court, disturbing details emerged about West's behaviour on the night of the crash.
West's two daughters and their friend were passengers in the car. One witness told police that West had been 'snaking', weaving aggressively along the road, and had deliberately disconnected the car's black box, invalidating his insurance, and 'show off' to his young passengers.
West initially tried to claim the black box was disconnected because he was working on the car and had simply forgotten to reconnect it.
He also denied speeding and said his driving was normal.
But the testimony of his passengers painted a very different picture, revealing reckless, dangerous behaviour that cost a young life.
West pleaded guilty to causing death by dangerous driving and driving without insurance.
'This tragedy has shattered my family beyond repair and is a loss we will carry for the rest of our lives,' Keely's heartbroken mother Sian Morgan said in a statement read out to the court.
Ms Morgan said Keely had been given a 'second chance of life' aged 13 when she received a kidney transplant.
She said: 'She fought so hard to have the opportunity to live a normal life and have the joys of being a teenager.
'She remained brave, courageous, and positive, but those dreams have been cruelly taken from her in an instant.
'She'll never be able to finish school, go to university, follow her dreams, experience the joys and the milestones of life.
'She had so much love to give. She was truly an incredible person with promise and a future ahead of her.'
Her mother said 'no words' could describe the pain of losing Keely.
'Every day I wake up and relive a nightmare. Her loss ripples through every part of our lives. My heart aches every day for my daughter who I can no longer hug or see the incredible person she could have been.
'The world is a darker place without her. The trauma of losing her in a sudden, violent, but preventable way haunts us.
She told West: 'This was totally avoidable. That one decision, that one moment, took everything from us.
'A pedestrian crossing is meant to protect people like Keely, who was using the crossing appropriately as she had a right to do so but she was struck and killed.
'Her life was taken by the drastic failure of you and you alone. You had a duty to uphold fundamental safety laws of being safe while driving and you chose not to do so
'She was an irreplaceable part of my life, and her family loved her more than words can say. Her life mattered. Her death must mean something. No sentence will ever bring her back.'
Judge Paul Hobson branded West as an 'irresponsible show off' as he sentenced him today.
'Keely Morgan was just 15 years old when she died on May 1 2023,' he said.
'Keely died as a result of your actions, as a result of your careless driving that evening.'
He added: 'You should have seen her and come to a stop in order to allow her to cross.
'Instead, you continued driving, oblivious to her, meaning that when Keely stepped into the road, you collided with her.'
He said West would have been able to see Keely for between 130-150 meters before the collision, adding: 'Ultimately Keely was there to be seen.'
The judge said police estimated West was travelling between 32-43mph but most likely at 37mph.
He described Keely as a young woman who was part of a 'large family network' and her loss had 'devastated those who loved her'.
The judge said it was 'plain' that West had been driving over the 30mph limit the road had at the time.
West had been described as 'apologetic' and in a state of panic after the collision.
But the judge said: 'Any remorse that you have is overshadowed by your attempts to minimise your level of responsibility, to the extent of challenging what your own passengers were saying.
'Although you may well be sorry for what happened to Keely, a large part of your concern is for yourself.'
The judge handed West a 16-month prison sentence and disqualified him from driving for two years and eight months.
As he was sent down, there were shouts of 'f*** off' and 'disgusting' from the public gallery.
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