A single mother who worked as a fitness instructor has been left quadriplegic and needing round-the-clock care after a teenage driver ploughed into her while he filmed himself at the wheel.
George Taylor made two calls, sent text messages and recorded five videos showing him driving a Volkswagen Golf at speed and overtaking other vehicles while using his knees on his steering wheel, when he crashed into Catherine Davies.
Taylor, from Stretham, Cambridgeshire, had held his licence for less than 12 weeks when he used his mobile ‘throughout the journey’ to college on the A47 near Norwich in January last year.
But he failed to see a Skoda Fabia in front of him and crashed into the back of it.
Ms Davies was paralysed from the neck down and now requires lifelong care in a specially adapted property fitted with life-support equipment.
Speaking at court yesterday as Taylor was jailed for just two years, Ms Davies’ father said of his daughter, ‘She will never breathe for herself again. She will never taste food again. She will never be able to hug her son again.’
A police sergeant at court added: ‘George Taylor made multiple decisions to use his mobile phone that day and in doing so put himself and everyone else at significant risk. It was Catherine who has paid the price.’
Ms Davies’ father Jeremy said in a statement: ‘Catherine has always been such a gregarious person with a great sense of humour and so full of life. I’ll never forget that day when we were told she had been in an accident and then arriving at the hospital to be facing the reality that we may lose her.
‘To hear that my only daughter may not survive was heartbreaking and, as her dad, all I wanted to do was make everything better for her.
‘The past 22 months have been traumatic and while I can’t change anything, I hope that by speaking out I can make others aware of what can happen on the roads.
‘Catherine’s life was changed in a split second, and I wouldn’t wish that on anyone.
‘My focus now is to help Catherine and her son as much as I can to make their lives as comfortable as possible.’
The fitness instructor wasn’t expected to survive the catastrophic brain and spinal injuries she sustained but was stabilised after surgery.
Taylor, who will serve his time in a young offenders’ institution, appeared at Norwich Crown Court yesterday to be sentenced after admitting causing serious injury by dangerous driving.
The teenager is now 19 and the offence carried a maximum jail term of five years.
Describing the case as ‘very sad’, Judge Anthony Bate said: ‘The defendant was using his phone multiple times throughout the journey…it is remarkable that the defendant did not collide with somebody sooner.’
Ms Davies was waiting at a junction of the A47 between Hockering and Honingham in Norfolk on January 18 last year when her Skoda Fabia was hit by Taylor’s VW Golf, which witnesses said appeared not to react to traffic ahead of it.
An investigation by Norfolk Police found photos and videos that showed he had recorded himself driving without his hands on the steering wheel as he dangerously overtook other cars.
He had also sent videos, text messages and made phone calls.
At the moment of the crash, he told police he was leaning over to move his phone from a cupholder so that he could reach his vape.
Gravely injured Ms Davies was put on palliative care in hospital but survived following surgery to her spine.
She spent two years in various hospitals including the Princess Alexandra Hospital spinal injuries unit in Sheffield, and was only discharged earlier this month.
Sergeant Callum Walchester said that Taylor ‘didn’t set out… intending to cause unimaginable injuries to another person but sadly that is exactly what he did’.
‘Catherine was a fit and healthy mother who now, as a result of Taylor’s actions, will live out the rest of her life paralysed and requiring lifelong care and support,’ he said.
‘Catherine and her family have agreed for us to tell her story to highlight the dangers that using a mobile phone poses, in the hope that no one else is in their position.
‘This is testament to their strength and outlook and for that I thank them.’
Ms Davies now relies on a tracheostomy – an opening in her windpipe – to allow her to breathe and has an ‘eye-gazing’ machine to help her communicate as her vocal chords were severely damaged, which limits her speech.
Prior to her injuries, she worked on cruise ships and in retail, before qualifying as a consultant working in estate planning and will writing. In her spare time, she ran fitness classes as a qualified personal trainer.
In a victim impact statement, her father said she had been dating a new partner and they were looking to buy a house together before the crash.
He added: ‘She will never breathe for herself again. She will never taste food again. She will never be able to hug her son again.’
Tractor driver Taylor, who was not represented in court as he failed to qualify for legal aid, was asked if he wanted to say anything to his victim and her family.
The father-to-be, whose partner is expecting their first child in February, said: ‘I would like to apologise. I know it does not bear much in the situation and I know it won’t change anything.
‘I wish I had never got a licence and had never got a car. I cannot say anything more than sorry.’
He spent much of the hearing gazing at the floor before being led from the dock to begin his sentence.
Ruth Booy, a specialist serious injury lawyer at Irwin Mitchell who represented Ms Davies and her family, said: ‘This is a truly tragic case where a loving mum has suffered life-changing injuries as a result of the selfish and dangerous actions of another driver.
‘What happened to Catherine is yet another stark reminder of the devastating consequences people can be left to face because of the actions of those who think it’s acceptable to break the law.
‘The dangers of using a mobile phone while driving should never be downplayed.’
Lead investigating officer Sgt Callum Walchester, of Norfolk Police, added: ‘This is a deeply tragic case which, like many collisions, could have been entirely avoidable.
‘Catherine was a fit and healthy mother who now, because of Taylor’s actions, will live out the rest of her life paralysed, requiring life-long care and support.
‘George Taylor made multiple decisions to use his mobile phone that day and, in doing so, put himself and everyone else at significant risk. It was Catherine who paid the price.’
He added: ‘It doesn’t matter how good a driver you may think you are. By using your mobile phone, you are risking the life of every road user you encounter.’
Taylor, whose sentence was reduced because of his ‘genuine remorse’ and early guilty plea, was also banned from driving for 40 months.