A driver who caused the death of his friend after losing control of his vehicle and colliding with a HGV in a horror crash on the A68 in County Durham has been jailed.
Cameron Kitch drove a Vauxhall Astra round a bend at a "high speed" and lost control of the vehicle colliding head-on with a HGV that was travelling in the opposite direction. Callum Geary from Bishop Auckland, was a passenger at the time of the crash on the A68 at Hummerbeck, on August 14, 2020, and he sadly died days later on August 23.
The court heard how Kitch was driving on average of 80mph in a 40mph zone. Kitch was subsequently arrested and charged with causing death by dangerous driving in connection with the West Auckland smash. The 21-year-old appeared at Durham Crown Court in February and pleaded not guilty to the single charge.
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A trial was set to begin in August however, Kitch, of East Green, West Auckland, returned to the court earlier this month. He pleaded guilty to the charge but only on the basis that he was not using his phone at the time of the crash.
The court heard that shortly before the crash, Kitch received text messages from his girlfriend at the time along with messages from another girl he was talking to under the alias 'Callum' and messages were sent in reply. However, Kitch, claimed Mr Geary was relaying messages to him and replying on his behalf.
Giving evidence at a Newton Hearing at Durham Crown Court on Friday, Kitch denied sending the text messages himself but said talking to Geary about what to text was a "distraction". He told the court: "Talking is a distraction and I was not focusing on what I was doing and looking down at my speedometer. I tried to break on the downhill but I was not hitting the break hard enough and I caused the accident through speed."
Although prosecuting lawyer Paul Rooney did not accept that basis of plea, a judge did after he said he could not be certain about who was using the phone following an evidential Newton Hearing - where a judge considers conflicting evidence without the benefit of a jury.
In a victim impact statement, Mr Geary's father said after losing three children previously, he and his wife had triplets, Callum and two other boys, through a "miracle" IVF treatment. He went on to describe his son as being "polite" and having a "heart of gold".
The moving statement read: "Callum had a heart of gold, he would do anything for anyone. He was excited get out in the big, wide world. He loved ground working and landscaping. His boss thought a lot of him and everyone who worked with him praised him for being a grafter.
"My wife and I pretend he's working away as a coping mechanism as we don't want to believe we'll never see him again. The driver of the car, in my opinion, is responsible for killing my son and needs to be dealt with robustly. The driver of the car had a choice and was responsible for his passengers but, despite this, made a bad choice and killed our son and left my two sons brotherless."
Defence lawyer, Michael Davies, said Kitch was "horrified" at the damage he caused and also told the court how his partner is pregnant which means he will be in custody when his child is born.
He said: "He feels a huge sense of shame, he's horrified at what he has done and the damage he has caused the family. He would do anything to turn the clock back but he can't undo what he has done.
"He's very distressed that he's caused the damage that he has. He's a young man with no experience of police stations or prisons. This will impact him greatly, he knows he will be in custody when the child arrives."
Judge James Adkin, the Recorder of Durham sentenced Kitch to 62 months imprisonment and disqualified him from driving for 79 months and he must then resit an extended test. He must also pay a victim surcharge of £190.
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