Tributes to 'beautiful' and 'quirky' young woman killed by boyfriend in crash

Briony, from Pendeen, suffered catastrophic injuries in the crash. Credit: Devon and Cornwall Police

The family of a 24-year-old killed by her boyfriend driving at "inappropriate speeds" have paid tribute to a "quirky" and "beautiful" young woman.

Briony Watkins was a passenger in the car of her boyfriend Sam Box, 25, on the evening of 28 April last year when the car collided with a bank, flipping and rolling along the road.

Sam Box has now been jailed for seven and a half years at Truro Crown Court for causing death by dangerous driving following a hearing at Friday 20 September.

A judge ruled he was "travelling at inappropriate speeds for the foggy conditions".

The court saw video footage of Box carrying out dangerous manoeuvres in his Nissan 200 SX on the evening of the crash, with Briony in the passenger seat.

Later that night they were travelling on the A39 at Crimp, where the crash happened.

Briony, from Pendeen, suffered catastrophic injuries and was taken to hospital where she died.

Box sustained serious injuries and was also taken to hospital. He was released following treatment and pleaded guilty in court.

  • Footage shows Briony's boyfriend Sam Box driving before the crash

Following his sentencing, Briony's family paid tribute to her.

Her sister Sophie said: “Briony is missed more than we could ever express. Her smile and infectious laugh, her beauty, her calm understanding and her quirky ways.

"The loss we feel is immeasurable.”

Her mum Janine added: “Singing was everything to Briony. She used to fill our house with her beautiful voice which brought me so much pride and joy to hear.

"Now the silence is deafening. Her love of bees, forget-me-knots and peonies will live with me and many of her friends forever through the tattoos we have had done to remember her by.

"Losing her has left me lifeless and I count down the days until I can join her. She will always be in my heart and thoughts, and I miss her every minute of every day.”

Serious Collisions Investigator, PC Sarah Harvey, said: “The sentence passed by Judge Climie shows the serious nature of this incident. The manner of driving by Box resulted in the tragic loss of a young life that so easily could have been avoided.

“Dangerous driving is any driving that falls far below that of a careful and competent driver, in essence if you wouldn’t do it in a driving test then you shouldn’t do it on the road.

“Cutting the number of deaths and injuries that occur on our roads every day is a responsibility we all share.”