A 15-year-old boy who killed five passengers, including three children, when he crashed a stolen car into a tree has been jailed for four-and-a-half years.



The teenager, who cannot be named for legal reasons, fled from the scene when the Renault Clio he was driving hit a tree, having reached speeds of 88mph, a court heard.

The car “split in two” and its five passengers were thrown into the road, suffering fatal injuries, on 25 November last year, Leeds crown court was told.

Sentencing the boy on Friday, Peter Collier QC told the boy the crash in the Meanwood area of the city would “forever shape your life”.

There were angry scenes in court when the judge told the teenager he would be eligible for release on licence after serving half the sentence. Outside court, the sisters of Darnell Harte, a 15-year-old killed in the crash, claimed the sentence was “not justice”.

Crying as they spoke to reporters, one sister, who declined to be named, said: “In two years’ time he’s going to be out and we’re going to have to see his face and not say anything because he’s served justice in some people’s eyes – to me that’s not justice, because I’m never going to see my little brother ever again. He was the best brother you could ever have.”

Others killed in the crashwere Ellis Thornton-Kimmitt, 12, and his brother Elliott, 15, Robbie Meerun and Anthony Armour, both 24.

Patrick Palmer, prosecuting, told the court the defendant was with a group who stole the car’s keys from a Wilkinson’s household goods store in Leeds. The car was seen being driven dangerously around the city, overtaking on the wrong side of the road and speeding through red traffic lights at up to 80mph.

After the crash, residents rushed to help free the driver, who was trapped in the car, and told him to stay but he ran away, the court was told.