Boy, 15, Charged Over Leeds Death Crash

[mikey4444]

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-leeds-42164348

Blimey....the Police haven't hung about have they !

So, can we presume that this boy was the driver of the stolen car ?

[MallyJ]

I had managed to work out that the others could not be dragged from their coffins...he is the sole survivor but how much encouragement to behave in that way came from the adults? They, as adults, allowed this to happen and took part in the madness they are, to some extent,responsible surely? If they are then he should not take all the blame.

[douglas9401]

It might help if the youth isn't bathed in the light of a Dickens novel suggesting a man yet to be awakened as to his potential and destiny.

He's a 21st century boy who knows what's what but has an army of professionals lining up to insist otherwise on his behalf.
He may have had some vague idea that he was acting out a video game plot and now he knows for sure that there's no reset.
No lessons will be learned, a few tears may roll at a school assembly and for sure social media will be awash with 'legend' and 'gon 2 soon m8' but be in no doubt, nothing will change.

[ChillDoubt]

What Douglas said.
Despite their ages, the history and circumstances suggest that none can be described as 'angelic'.

[wolf63]

I've heard of girl passengers in situations like this, but it seems to be a predominantly male crime. Why?

[mikey4444]

Wolfie....joy riding seems to carry on from where most boys come from......slightly dangerous games. Perhaps most girls have more sense than most boys

[douglas9401]

No Mikey, they can play equally dangerous games connected to cars as has been documented in the recent past, only the ultimate outcome is less final.

[mikey4444]

I realise that Dougie.

What we saw in Leeds was a lack or good upbringing, correct supervision, and a lack of education, which could just as easily have applied to girls as well as boys. But Wolfie made the point that more boys seem to be liable to joy riding than girls, and from what I have seen, that would appear to be correct.

[zebo]

When I was teaching it was the girls who were more likely to refuse to get into a stolen car but even then many did. It's not a lack of education, schools are forever trying to get over the various dangers, including 'joy-riding' bit I will never forget what one girl said to me after an anti-drugs session. 'We know it's wrong, and all the other stuff too but you have no idea of the pressures we're placed under, when we go home, to conform'. I paraphrase but that was the gist of it, they all know the dangers but no amount of education will ever prevent things like this or the twelve year old I taught way back in 71 who blew off three fingers 'making fireworks for a laugh'.

[mikey4444]

Just found this on YouTube....not a girl to be seen :::

[New Judge]

As always providing a view on the likely sentence is not easy as we don’t have all the details. As well as that, sentencing for Causing Death by Dangerous Driving is quite complex. However, as a guide, the “seriousness” of the offence is split into three bands. When sentencing an adult (18+) offender for an offence in the lowest band the “starting point” for consideration is one of three year’s custody, with a range of 2 to 5 years. However it is likely that a judge will see this in a higher band (his is defined as “Driving that created a substantial risk of danger”. If so, the starting point is 5 years with a range of 4 to 7 years. The offence is considerably aggravated by the number of deaths caused and it would not be surprising to see a sentence near the top of that range.

However, offenders under 18 receive considerably lower sentences than their adult counterparts and a 15 year old offender could (in very broad terms) expect to be handed a sentence of no more than half the adult tariff. But as I said, it is a complex offence to sentence and there are a multitude of factors to consider.

The guidelines I mention are for a first time offender being found guilty at trial. A previous record (especially for similar offences) will see the sentence increased whilst an early guilty plea will see a one third discount applied.

[mikey4444]

Thanks NJ....as always, a very full and interesting post.