Sky’s the limit as pals jump to it in memory of tragic Katelyn
CHARITY DIVE RAISES THOUSANDS FOR HOSPICE
TWO close friends of a teenager who died during an out-of-the-blue, horror crash have raised thousands of pounds for charity.
Ellie Stephenson and her friend Amy Nicholson from Huddersfield completed a skydive in memory of Katelyn Dawson, 15, who died in January 2018 after she was hit by the driver of a BMW on Wakefield Road, Moldgreen.
Two other people were also hurt in the incident.
The Crown Prosecution Service declined to prosecute the middle-aged BMW driver despite evidence that he was driving dangerously.
However, the Service decided he was not criminally responsible for her death due to ‘insane automatism’.
This applies where a person suffers some malfunctioning of his body or mind due to an internal cause such as an illness or medical episode.
Originally Ellie, 21 and Amy, 22, had hoped to complete the dive on 8 August, four days before Katelyn’s birthday with money going to the Forget Me Not Children’s Hospice which helped her parents in the aftermath of the tragedy.
However, the jump with the Red Devils - the Parachute Regiment’s parachute display team - in Nottinghamshire had to be postponed because weather conditions were not favourable.
Ellie, 21, said: “We dived from 13,000ft and it was an amazing experience. We spent 40 seconds free-falling and six minutes gliding.
“Amy works for Arnold Clark and they have said they will match the amount we raise up to £1,000. So we’re hoping to raise around £3,000 altogether.
“I grew up with Katelyn and have known her since she was born.
“We were lifelong, family friends and used to spend lots of time together when we were younger.
“Our families have been the best of friends for many years.
“Katelyn introduced me to dancing, where we spent days competing together and travelling up and down the country at competitions.
“We always used to make up dance routines at family parties and show them off to our parents after hours of preparation.
“Amy met Katelyn through dancing at the same school they also went to the same dance competitions.
“As we are still fighting for justice we wanted to do something positive in her honour for a charity that means a lot to Katelyn’s family and helped them through this very hard time.”