A British teen who crashed his car while inhaling laughing gas, killing three passengers, was sentenced to nine years and four months in jail, according to the police and news reports.
Thomas Johnson, 19, pleaded guilty Wednesday in Oxford Crown Court of the June 2023 crash that killed Elliot Pullen, 17, and Ethan Goddard and Daniel Hancock, both 18.
Johnson, seen on images inhaling the nitrous oxide while at the wheel, lost control of the silver BMW that was traveling nearly 100 mph and it slammed into a lamppost, a stone wall and a tree, according to the Thames Valley Police.
The speed limit on the road was 30 mph.
Canisters of nitrous oxide were found inside the car, and Johnson was seen on video found on the phones of the three passengers using a balloon to inhale the gas.
At his sentencing, Judge Emma Nott told Johnson that he would be "forever defined" by his "teenage mistakes," the Guardian reported.
She also said that his facial disfigurement and injuries from the crash, including brain trauma, cracked ribs, and loss of sight in one eye, would be a "permanent reminder" to him that his actions resulted in the death of his friends.
"Your three passengers will never see beyond their teenage years, and you move out of yours significantly and permanently disabled," the judge said, the publication reported.
The families of the boys said in a joint statement that they hope that Johnson's sentencing will "serve as a deterrent to other drivers," Sky News reported.
Pullen's parents issued a separate statement saying the family was "united by grief" and that they were in a "permanent living nightmare."
Detective Tony Jenkins, a senior investigating officer, called the crash "one of the most catastrophic and tragic collisions I have ever investigated."
"Ethan, Elliot and Daniel stood no chance. They were simply enjoying a night out, and their lives were needlessly and tragically cut short by Johnson's actions," he said.
Originally published on International Business Times
