Mum's heartbreaking tribute to daughter killed by her friend in Sunderland drink drive crash
Mia Marsh's family paid tribute to the 17-year-old, who died when drink driver Yasmin Martin crashed the car they were travelling in.
by Sam Volpe · ChronicleLiveThe family of a teenager killed by a drink driver she thought was a friend has paid tribute to their "loving girl".
Mia Marsh, 17, who lives in the Hylton Castle area of Sunderland, was in a car with killer driver Yasmin Martin, who was more than twice over the drink-driving limit, when Martin smashed the vehicle into a fence on the A1231 in the city. Martin, also 17 at the time, has now been jailed for eight years.
A moving statement on behalf of Mia's mother Danielle and her wider family was read in court during a sentencing hearing which took place at Newcastle Crown Court on September 19. Martin, of Aldwych Road in Sunderland, had admitted causing death my dangerous driving earlier this year - though only after initially, falsely, claiming her drink had been spiked.
Danielle's statement said: "Instead of living a life I once knew I am now stuck in a nightmare I cannot wake up from. The pain that we are going through as a family is unimaginable.”
She described Mia as someone who “loved life and was full of life” – and that she would “light up a room as she walked in". Danielle said that while other girls, including Martin, had been able to enjoy their lives and even go on holidays, Mia had been "robbed of her future".
Danielle added: "People say we have to think of all the memories through the 17 years we had Mia, but 17 years is not anywhere near enough. We want her here and now, we don’t want her to be a memory, and can’t accept that now and never will."
In the early hours of December 3, 2022, police were alerted to a collision on a stretch of the A1231 between the Northern Spire and Queen Alexandra bridges in Sunderland. A black Vauxhall Astra had crossed the central reservation before crashing into a fence on the opposite side of the road.
Mia had been a passenger in the vehicle and heartbreakingly was confimed to have died at the scene. A police investigation was immediately launched and roadside and blood tests revealed the Martin - who had been at the wheel - was almost twice the drink-drive limit and had reached speeds of up to 80mph on the 30mph road before losing control.
This week she was sentenced to eight years in prison – and disqualified from driving for 10 years and four months. Martin was also ordered to pay a victim surcharge of £228 will be subject to an extended driving test in the future.
Inspector Sarah Munnelly, of Northumbria Police’s Roads Policing Unit, said: “First and foremost, I would like to express my deepest sympathies as Mia’s loved ones attempt to navigate a life without her. I have the upmost respect for how they have carried themselves through what has been such a devastating ordeal – and I would like to commend their strength and composure throughout the proceedings."
The inspector said no result would take away the family's pain but hoped the prison sentence would bring the family closure. She added: "Of course, any death on our roads is a tragedy but it’s even more poignant when it involves somebody so young, who had their whole life ahead of them.
“Martin’s reckless actions to drive under the influence and at such high speeds that evening – despite the best efforts of the passengers to stop her – ultimately led to Mia losing her life."
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