Sunderland teenager killed 'closest friend' Mia Marsh in crash after ignoring her pleas to slow down

A teenage drink driver killed her closest friend after ignoring her pleas to slow down - instead speeding up and crashing at more than twice the limit.

Yasmin Martin, who was 17 at the time, was almost double the drink drive limit when she climbed behind the wheel of a car she had never driven until that day to take three friends home from a night out.

Pleading from passenger Mia Marsh, who she had known since they were young, and another girl, appeared to make now 19-year-old Martin angry, a court heard.

Martin, of Aldwych Road, Sunderland, put her foot down and then lost control on a bend at more than 70mph in a 30mph zone, smashing into a crash barrier and killing 17-year-old Mia.

Mia's family - wearing T-shirts showing a picture of the late teen - was at Newcastle Crown Court on Thursday (19 September) as Martin was handed an eight-year jail term.

Mia's mum, who did not feel able to attend the hearing, issued a victim impact statement which was read to the court.

In it, the grieving mother described feeling like she was "stuck in a nightmare", adding: "The pain we, as a family, are going through is unimaginable."

The impact statement read: "We miss Mia an unbelievable amount, our hearts are forever broken.

"Mia was only 17 when she was tragically taken from us. She had her whole life to look forward to. You never know how if feels to lose a child or a sister until it happens to you."

She added: "Due to her injuries no one was allowed to identify her and she had to have a closed coffin. This made me doubt if it was really Mia and if it was a horrible mistake."

Martin, who had passed her driving test in May 2022, was driving a Vauxhall Astra which her dad had hired that day.

She had no experience of driving it before the evening of Friday 2 December 2022, and was not insured to do so.

Martin, who regarded Mia, who she had known since nursery, as her closest friend at the time, picked up her and two other friends and they went drinking in six bars in Sunderland, where they all consumed pints of Strongbow dark fruits, Jagerbombs and vodka and Red Bulls, the court heard.

At 12.47am, Martin walked towards the car but was prevented from getting in the driver's seat and told to get in the back.

The court was told Mia drove the car away but after stopping for fuel, Martin took over driving after becoming "fussy" over the fact her friend was driving.

The two other girls said Martin was driving too fast. None of them were wearing seatbelts and one of the girls told the others to put them on due to the manner of Martin's driving.

Mia and one of the other girls shouted at the defendant to slow down but she ignored those requests, and instead increased her speed, seeming to become angry at being told to slow down.

One of the girls said she accelerated and appeared to want to "prove she could drive like this" and "like she was invincible".

The collision occurred as she headed west on the A1231 between the Spire Bridge and the Queen Alexander Bridge.

Having failed to negotiate a sweeping left-hand bend, the car crossed onto the wrong side of the road and hit the crash barrier, rebounding and ending up 180 metres down the road.

Mia died as a result of a significant head injury caused when the car struck the crash barrier.

CCTV played to the court showed the vehicle was travelling between 64mph and 67mph when 500 metres from the collision - and between 75mph and 80mph as it left the west-bound carriageway and crossed the central reservation. The speed limit was 30mph.

Investigations showed the crash was caused by the excessive speed the car was being driven at by Martin while under the influence of alcohol. She was almost twice the drink drive limit.

After her arrest, she claimed an "old man" had spiked her drink but a trawl of CCTV at the bars where she had been proved this to be a lie.

Martin pleaded guilty to causing death by dangerous driving and was jailed for eight years, of which she must serve two-thirds in custody. She will be banned from driving for five years after she is released from prison.

Judge Christopher Prince said Martin had told the author of a pre-sentence report the other girls got into the car knowing she had been drinking.

But, he said: "They didn't know you were going to drive in the manner you did. They expected you to take care of them."

Matthew Bean, defending, said: "Yasmin Martin accepts full responsibility for what happened that day.

"Mia Marsh was, at the time, her closest friend and she will have to live with the fact she caused her death.

"There is genuine remorse for what she has done. She regrets her decision and will have to live with her decision for the rest of her life and the fact she has caused suffering and pain to Mia's family."

Mr Bean said Martin has an 11-month-old daughter, for whom she has been the sole carer, and who will now be cared for by her grandmother while Martin is in prison.

He added: "She wishes she could turn back the clock and make good the wrong she caused."

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