Crash driver dodged blame ...by dragging unconscious girl passenger into his seat
He’s jailed over death smash after swapping places in wreck
A DRIVER who killed a teenager in a crash has been branded a ‘twisted monster’ by the girl he tried to frame for the crime.
In a desperate bid to escape justice, Kanad Basi, 22, attempted to implicate his friend Ellie Plenderleith, 20, in the horror smash that killed 16-year-old Jack Frame.
Basi, who had taken cocaine and ecstasy and was almost twice the drink-drive limit, drove his BMW into a bend at speed, lost control and crashed into a tree in Lesmahagow, Lanarkshire, in February 2019 at around 2am.
Moments after the car hit the tree, Basi moved into the back and dragged unconscious Miss Plenderleith into the front to make it look like she was at the wheel. On Tuesday, Basi, of Pollokshields, Glasgow, admitted killing Jack by dangerous driving.
Earlier this week, Miss Plenderleith said: ‘Kanad moving me from the back seat to the driver seat while I was unconscious shows you what kind of person he is.
‘What made things worse was that because he wasn’t charged for a long time, he was able to spread his false version of events round our community to further the notion he was a victim.
‘This meant people believed him and they blamed me.
‘I received loads of abuse – either in person or in texts – and it made it difficult for me to attend Jack’s funeral with other young people believing Kanad.’
She added: ‘However Jack and Aiden’s family I think always suspected there was something wrong with Kanad’s version of events and thankfully they have always been very supportive and kind to me from the beginning.
‘The whole thing took a massive toll. I lived in constant anxiety and I have physical injuries that will now stay with me for the rest of my life.
‘It makes me sick to think Kanad was my friend before the crash. I trusted him – I don’t know how he could do something so horrendous, to take time and plan things and spread lies.
‘I am glad people know the truth of what happened and that twisted toxic monster will hopefully be locked up where he belongs, but we should not have had to wait as long as we did for justice.’
Miss Plenderleith suffered a broken arm and ribs, fractured chest bone, lacerated liver and a punctured lung. She had to have a finger amputated.
Fellow passenger Aiden O’Donnell, then 18, was badly hurt while Mr Frame died at the scene from head injuries.
Mr O’Donnell, an apprentice joiner, suffered a fractured skull, four facial fractures, two broken legs and a number of fractures to his left arm. He had to learn to walk again and has been unable to work since the accident.
Earlier, the court heard Basi was the only person in the car to be wearing a seatbelt and suffered a broken wrist.
The court also heard that Basi used Mr O’Donnell’s phone to call 999 and during that conversation admitted he himself was the driver. However later, sitting in the back of an ambulance, he was asked by police if he was the driver and replied: ‘I can’t remember now, but give me half an hour or so.’
A breath test showed Basi had an alcohol count of 37. The legal limit is 22. A blood sample taken from him showed the presence of cocaine and ecstasy. Judge Lord Mulholland remanded first offender Basi in custody and deferred sentence. He told the court: ‘If ever there was a case that showed the folly of the combination of drugs, alcohol and speed, it is this case.’
‘Whole thing took a massive toll’