Victim begged her friend to slow down - but lost her life in drink drive tragedy

Teen Yasmin Martin was travelling at more than twice the 30mph speed limit and was almost double the drink drive limit at the time of the horror crash in Sunderland

A young drink driver tragically killed her close friend after accelerating despite pleas to slow down.

Yasmin Martin was driving at more than double the speed limit and was nearly twice over the legal alcohol limit at the time of the horrific accident. The 19 year old, who was only 17 at the time, had chosen to drive three friends home from a night out in a car she had never driven before that day. The court heard how Martin reacted with fury when Mia Marsh and another girl begged her to reduce her speed.

She lost control of the vehicle while speeding at over 70mph in a 30mph zone. Martin crashed the car into a barrier, resulting in the death of 17 year old Mia. Martin and Mia had been friends since childhood, Newcastle Crown Court was told.

One of the passengers claimed that Martin seemed determined to demonstrate her reckless driving skills, acting 'like she was invincible, like she can do what she wants and no one else is stopping her'. As Martin, from Aldwych Road, Sunderland, received an eight-year prison sentence for causing death by dangerous driving, Mia's family attended Newcastle Crown Court wearing T-shirts displaying a picture of the tragic teenager.

Her mother, Danielle, was too distraught to attend the hearing, but a victim impact statement from her was read to the court, detailing her heartbreaking loss, reports the Manchester Evening News. She's living a nightmare she can't escape from, as she shared: "The pain we, as a family, are going through is unimaginable."

She revealed the heartache of sometimes pretending Mia is just out, before reality crashes in with overwhelming force, reports Chronicle Live. Danielle expressed her deep longing: "We want her here and now. We don't want her as a memory. We still think one day she will come bouncing back through the door singing and being cheerful like she was."

The grief is palpable as she said: "We miss Mia an unbelievable amount, our hearts are forever broken. Mia was only 17 when she was tragically taken from us. She had her whole life to look forward to. You never know how if feels to lose a child or a sister until it happens to you."

In a heart-wrenching addition, she stated: "Due to her injuries no one was allowed to identify her and she had to have a closed coffin. This made me doubt if it was really Mia and if it was a horrible mistake... We will love Mia unconditionally until we meet again baby girl. Love you so much my Mia."

Martin, who had only passed her driving test in May 2022, found herself behind the wheel of a Vauxhall Astra that her father had rented for the day. With no prior experience driving this vehicle and lacking insurance, she took to the roads on that fateful Friday, December 2, 2022.

Martin, who once considered Mia her dearest friend since their nursery days, gathered her and two others for a night out in Sunderland. Their revelry included rounds of Strongbow dark fruits, Jagerbombs, and vodka Red Bulls across six different bars.

An employee at a local bar, upon learning that Martin's car was parked nearby, expressed his hope that she wouldn't be driving due to her visibly intoxicated state. She assured him she wasn't driving and proceeded to order a drink.

At 12.:7am, Martin attempted to get into the driver's seat of her car but was stopped and directed to the backseat while Mia took the wheel. After a pit stop for fuel, Martin insisted on taking over driving duties, seemingly irked by Mia being in control.

The other girls in the car voiced their concerns about Martin's reckless speed. Alarmingly, none of them were wearing seatbelts, prompting one girl to urge the others to buckle up given Martin's erratic driving.

Despite pleas from Mia and another girl to slow down, Martin ignored their requests and instead ramped up her speed, seemingly angered by their attempts to rein her in. One of the girls described Martin's defiant attitude as if she was trying to 'prove she could drive like this' and behaving 'like she didn't care', 'like she was invincible, like she can do what she wants and no one else is stopping her'.

The crash occurred as Martin was heading west on the A1231 between the Spire Bridge and the Queen Alexander Bridge. Unable to navigate a sweeping left-hand bend, the car veered onto the wrong side of the road, collided with a crash barrier, rebounded and ended up 180 metres down the road.

Mia's bereaved relatives requested the disturbing CCTV footage of the tragic crash be shown in court, and it later was. The haunting image of the wrecked vehicle post-collision was also displayed before the jury.

Mia suffered a fatal head injury when the car smashed into a crash barrier at high speed.

The court watched harrowing CCTV clips revealing that the Astra was travelling between 64 and 67mph half a kilometre away from the incident, accelerating to a shocking 75mph to 80mph before veering off the westbound carriageway and hurtling across the central reservation. The area's speed limit was just 30mph.

Police reports concluded that Martin's reckless speeding while drunk was the undeniable cause of the accident; her alcohol levels were nearly double the legal limit for driving.

Initially after being taken into custody, Martin fabricated a story about an 'old man' drugging her drink, but this was unequivocally disproved by bar surveillance footage. Ultimately, she entered a guilty plea to the charge of causing death by dangerous driving and received an eight-year prison sentence, with an obligation to serve two-thirds behind bars.

Her driving privileges will also be revoked for five years following her release.

Judge Christopher Prince refuted Martin's attempt, stated in a pre-sentence report, to shift some blame onto her passengers, clarifying: "They didn't know you were going to drive in the manner you did. They expected you to take care of them."

Coming to Martin's defence, Matthew Bean admitted: "Yasmin Martin accepts full responsibility for what happened that day. Mia Marsh was, at the time, her closest friend and she will have to live with the fact she caused her death."

"There is genuine remorse for what she has done. She regrets her decision and will have to live with her decision for the rest of her life and the fact she has caused suffering and pain to Mia's family."

Mr Bean revealed that Martin, who has an 11-month-old daughter for whom she is the sole carer, will now see her child looked after by her grandmother while she serves time in prison, adding: "She wishes she could turn back the clock and make good the wrong she caused."