A 40-year-old driver who killed a 13-year-old girl in a car crash before demanding her teenage friends lie to police as they tried to save her has been jailed for more than 12 years.
Dwane Moody pleaded guilty to causing the death of Evelyn Haylock by dangerous driving after crashing a Nissan Note near Ware, Hertfordshire, on January 31.
Moody, who had consumed alcohol, took another guest's car from a party in Dane End without consent. He drove away with Evelyn in the front passenger seat and two other teenagers in the back, despite having no insurance and no licence.
Witnesses saw the vehicle being driven erratically and at speed, St Albans Crown Court heard. Just over a mile from the party, Moody failed to navigate a corner on Whitehill and crashed the vehicle through a fence.
Evelyn suffered serious injuries in the collision. As the two other teenagers began giving her first aid and called emergency services, Moody ordered them to tell police that another vehicle coming the opposite direction had forced them off the road.
He then left the scene before returning with the car's owner and threatening one of the teenagers, insisting they lie about what happened.
Moody was arrested at the scene when police arrived. He was taken to hospital as a precaution and discharged uninjured before being taken into custody.
Girl's laughter 'permanently silenced'
Evelyn was airlifted to hospital but died from her injuries days later on February 4. The other two passengers were treated in hospital for minor soft tissue damage.
In a moving statement read to the court, Evelyn's mother said the teenager "absolutely loved life" and brought "infectious energy" to their home.
"One of her absolute favourite places to be was on her trampoline," she said. "I can still close my eyes and see her jumping, laughing, and defying gravity, just bursting with youth and happiness. She had so much life left to live, so many more days to jump, play, and grow. Evelyn's feet will never touch that trampoline again. Her laughter has been permanently silenced. The defendant didn't just cause a crash; he shattered my entire universe."
Evelyn's father described his daughter as "the light of all our worlds" who made them smile every day by saying "the most random things".
"Our family is a chain, and she was the strongest link keeping us all together and now that link is no longer there but we are still holding on strong, never losing her name and keeping her in our hearts," he said.
'Reckless and selfish decisions'
Detective Constable Lewis Stanley, from the Serious Collision Investigation Unit, said Moody made a series of "reckless and selfish decisions" that evening.
"Not only did he drive dangerously, resulting in a fatal collision, but he then attempted to evade responsibility by pressuring others to provide a false account of what had happened," he said. "It speaks volumes of his character that he, a grown man, was trying to persuade the other passengers, both teenagers, to lie for him whilst they were trying to save Evelyn."
The detective commended the teenagers for their brave actions following a "hugely traumatic ordeal", adding that no sentence could undo the pain caused by the young girl's death.
Moody was sentenced on Friday to 12 years and eight months in prison. Alongside causing death by dangerous driving, he admitted causing death whilst uninsured, causing death whilst otherwise in accordance with a licence, two counts of perverting the course of justice, and the aggravated taking of a vehicle without consent.
He was also banned from driving for 17 years and four months.
