‘Hatred for driver who killed my girl keeps me alive’
Father of 17-year-old who died in car crash delivers excoriating statement as ‘menace to society’ is jailed
A FATHER has said his hatred of the drink-driver who was responsible for his teenage daughter’s death is one of the only things keeping him alive.
Paul Johnson’s 17-year-old daughter, Phoebe, was a passenger in a car being driven by Melissa Keilloh that crashed on the A514 between Swadlincote and Derby in October 2021.
The pair had been at a house party that evening and Keilloh, 20, had been described as drunk by other guests, openly admitting “I’m f----d” before getting in her car to go for a drive with Miss Johnson and another friend.
Keilloh crashed 18 minutes after leaving the house, having driven at about 70mph around two corners, with her vehicle careering through a hedge and coming to rest 40 yards away in a field.
Miss Johnson, who had not been wearing a seatbelt, sustained head and neck injuries after being ejected from the car and died at the Queen’s Medical Centre in Nottingham later that day.
Delivering a victim statement at a sentencing hearing at Derby Crown Court, Mr Johnson – a former police officer – criticised Keilloh’s “unscrupulous actions” and said she was a “menace and a danger to society”.
Addressing Keilloh, who wept as the statement was read, he said: “Your naivety, negligence and arrogance along with your stupidity was the cause of our daughter’s death.
“My hatred of you is only equal to the love of my daughter, and these two things keep me alive.
“You will still have a life after this. We will not have that luxury.
“You have taken away both our futures by your selfish and irresponsible actions. I hope [Phoebe] haunts you for the rest of your miserable life.
“We will never show you any mercy, nor will we ever forgive you.”
Hours before the crash, a partygoer heard Keilloh telling her mother that she was too drunk to drive and she was urged to stay put.
But after leaving the house party at 12.07am, she lost control of her Seat Leon when she went around two corners on a 60mph stretch of road.
Sarah Slater, prosecuting, said that when Phoebe said she was scared owning to Keilloh’s erratic driving, the 20-year-old replied “No you’re not” and was heard on dashcam footage saying “when I tell you to hold on, hold on” minutes before the crash.
Following the smash, Keilloh, of Hartshorne, Derbys, was described by witnesses as “hysterical” and was arrested at the scene. Tests showed she had between 97 and 149milligrams of alcohol per 100millilitres of blood when the legal limit is 80mg.
Stephen Cobley, mitigating, said that Keilloh, who admitted causing death by careless driving when over the prescribed alcohol limit, was remorseful but added that “she understands that she has to be punished”.
Sentencing Keilloh to three years in prison, Judge Shaun Smith KC said: “It really is impossible to know where to begin.
“Where does any judge begin when sentencing someone whose driving has changed the lives of so many people, forever?”
He added: “Sadly, when others warned you, you took no heed.”
Keilloh was also disqualified from driving for six-and-a-half years.
‘I hope Phoebe haunts you for the rest of your miserable life – we will never show you any mercy or forgive you’