Driver jailed for causing death of Leeds teenager, one day before final A-level exam
18-year-old Kate Whalley died after being hit by a car along the A660 in Pool in Wharfdale last year.
A dangerous driver who caused the death of a "beautiful'' 18-year-old student in Leeds the day before her final A-level exam has been jailed for four-and-a-half years.
Kate Whalley suffered terminal head injuries when she was struck by a black Ford Fiesta ST as it went round a tight bend on the A660 in Pool-in-Wharfedale, on June 22 last year.
The teenager had just completed her penultimate exam at Harrogate Grammar School, and was kept alive for more than a day at Leeds General Infirmary so the donation of nine of her organs could be arranged.
On Thursday, Leeds Crown Court heard how the driver of the vehicle involved, 23-year-old Kieran McGowan, had drunk five pints of beer in the hours leading up to the incident, and was breaking the speed limit when his car hit a curb and a lamppost before catapulting towards the teenager.
McGowan had previously admitted causing death by dangerous driving and was told by Judge Christopher Batty that his "selfish and lunatic behaviour'' had directly led to Ms Whalley's fatal injuries.
Sentencing, the judge said: "It was a display of selfishness and arrogance and, as is so often the case, the person who paid the price was an innocent young girl who was making her way home.''
In a victim impact statement read to the court, Ms Whalley's mother, Diane Jordan, described her as a "very special and confident young lady'' who had been working hard to secure a place to study psychology at Newcastle University in the next academic year.
She added: "The grief and pain we have experienced as a family is hard to put into words. The loss of Kate's future achievements, possible marriage and children is too much to bear.
"There is a hole in my heart that will never heal.''
In his statement, Ms Whalley's father Michael Whalley tearfully told how he and his daughter had a "beautiful bond'' and said he had lost the opportunity to watch her graduate and walk her down the aisle.
Discussing McGowan, who was seen crying in the dock, Mr Whalley said: "It's a crying shame that he did not think of the consequences of his lunatic driving offences.''
Prosecutor Michael Smith told the court how McGowan, of Knox Way in Harrogate, North Yorkshire, was described by witnesses as driving "between 60 and 80 miles per hour'' in the lead up to the incident, which happened on a 40 mile per hour limit road.
Mr Smith added that the defendant was likely to have been over the drink-drive limit at the time of the offence, but that this could not be conclusively proved.
In a letter read to the court by defence solicitor Andrew Dallas, McGowan said his actions were "unforgivable'' and apologised to Ms Whalley's family.
His colleague and passenger, Oliver Hurst, 32, admitted perverting the course of justice by "deliberately misleading'' police about how much he and McGowan had had to drink prior to the crash.
The defendant, of Beamsley View in Ilkley, West Yorkshire, was jailed for seven months, after apologising to the deceased's family in a statement read in court