Twin of schoolgirl killed in crash tells court of their "special bond"
"Half of me I'll never be able to get back"
"We had a special bond only a twin could understand"
"I always knew she was going to do great things"
Holly's twin sister Emma's victim impact statement heard in court
The twin sister of a schoolgirl killed in a coach crash while on a school trip, has told a court through an impact statement that "half of me I'll never be able to get back".
Birmingham Crown Court heard that Holly Brown, who was 14, was killed"instantaneously" last year. Nicholas Buck who's 52 was working as a bin lorry driver on a recycling route for Birmingham City Council at the time. The court heard he pulled onto the "treacherous" Kingsbury Road without looking. His vehicle ploughed into the rear end of the school bus, killing Holly.
She was described as a talented dancer and aspiring artist, and was among 21 students from John Taylor High School in Barton-under-Needwood in Staffordshire, who were on a school trip to Birmingham's Botanical Gardens and Wolverhampton Art Gallery.
The court heard that Buck stopped at the scene, as those onboard were left "distraught" by what had happened. Two of Holly's friends who survived had suffered flashbacks, nightmares and post-traumatic stress disorder after the crash.
Judge Avik Mukherjee told Buck from Kingshurst in Birmingham, that his previous driving offence from 2014 and his attempt to lay blame for thecrash at the school coach driver were "significant aggravating factors". Buck was sacked after the accident.