Driver guilty of causing deaths of girl, 16, and man, 21, in Essex crash

A young man who crashed a car into a tree, killing two of his passengers, has been found guilty of causing their deaths by dangerous driving.

Kane Faulkner-Wild, 23, got behind the wheel of a BMW M3 after he had been drinking, Chelmsford Crown Court was told.

Prosecutor Meyrick Williams said that the defendant had been driving “too fast” and “ignored a request to slow down”.

There were five people inside the four-seater coupe, the defendant and four passengers, when it left the road and struck a tree in Goldings Hill in Loughton, Essex at around 2am on August 24, 2019.

Front seat passenger Sophia Khan, 16, and 21-year-old Max Halcrow, who was in the seat behind her, both died.

The other two passengers, Mae Hunt and Alana Cooper, then aged 17 and 16, both sustained serious injuries.

Ms Cooper, who was “perched in the middle” between the two rear passengers, spent a month in hospital while Ms Hunt spent a week in hospital, Mr Williams said.

He added that the car was “torn almost in two”.

Passing police officers noticed the crashed vehicle and saw Faulkner-Wild by the driver’s door, Mr Williams said.

He said that the car belonged to Ms Khan’s father.

He said Ms Khan took the vehicle, with Ms Hunt and Ms Cooper as her passengers, and drove it to a pub where they met the defendant and Mr Halcrow.

“(Ms Khan’s) father had been away since Thursday when Sophia got her GCSE results,” said Mr Williams.

“She did well.

“We understand she fancied or had a crush on the defendant.”

Faulkner-Wild later drove the car and crashed it, the court heard.

Mr Williams said that the defendant’s DNA was found on the driver’s airbag and his fingerprints were on the driver’s door.

He said that Faulkner-Wild suffered injuries “consistent with him being the driver” and his blood alcohol level was found to be above the drink-drive limit.

The defendant, of St Johns Road, Epping, had denied all charges but following a trial he was found guilty of causing the deaths of two of his passengers by dangerous driving, Essex Police said.

The force said he was also found guilty of causing serious injury by dangerous driving to his two surviving passengers.

A court official said that two alternative counts of causing death by careless driving while over the drink-drive alcohol limit were left to lie on the file, with no verdicts taken.

Mr Williams said that at the scene of the crash Faulkner-Wild tried to claim that Ms Khan had been driving, although she was trapped in the front passenger seat with her seatbelt on.

Detective Sergeant Sam Nason said the two deaths were “tragic and completely preventable”, and that the two surviving passengers were left with “serious life changing injuries”.

“Kane Faulkner-Wild should not have got behind the wheel that night after he knew that he had been drinking and wasn’t safe to do so,” he said.

“Despite denying his involvement in causing the collision, the jury heard that our investigation proved he was the driver and fully responsible.

“Two families will now live with the knowledge that their daughter and son were taken too soon.”

Faulkner-Wild is due to be sentenced next month.