A 21-YEAR-OLD woman has been jailed for causing the death of a 20-year-old passenger in her car in a collision in West Yorkshire in November 2021.

Chelsea Standage, of Barden Road, Wakefield, had previously pleaded guilty to causing the death of Elliott Lemm by dangerous driving and two counts of causing serious injury by dangerous driving in relation to two other passengers in the vehicle 

She appeared at Leeds Crown Court today (Thursday, July 27) where she was sentenced to eight years and eight months imprisonment.

She will not be considered for release from prison until she has served at least two-thirds of her sentence. She was also banned from driving for 10 years.

The collision happened on Wakefield Road, Horbury, in the early hours of November 13, 2021.

Standage lost control of her vehicle on a bend, colliding with a wall and a parked vehicle.

She is estimated to have been travelling at over 70mph on the 30mph road and gave an evidential breath test result of 63 micrograms of alcohol per 100 millilitres of breath. The legal limit is 35.

Elliott’s mother Samantha Lemm provided a victim statement to the court.

"I don’t believe I will ever forget the night the police came to my home to tell me that my boy had died.

"The day that I had to close the lid on his coffin and put Elliott into the dark I knew that it was forever.

"Elliot was taken so suddenly there was still so much for him to do and so much I wanted to say to him. Every morning when I wake up my heart is broken.“

Detective Sergeant Paul Lightowler, of the Major Collision Enquiry Team, said: “Chelsea Standage’s reckless actions on that night have had an absolutely devastating impact not just on those in the car but their families, friends and the wider community.

“People may recall this collision and the media coverage of Snapchat messages sent from within the car with one of the passengers telling Chelsea to ‘slow down’.

“Sadly, the speed she was travelling at and her impaired judgement from drinking alcohol killed one person and seriously injured two others.

“Elliott was just 20 years old when he died, with his whole life ahead of him. His family and the police hope that by highlighting the events leading up to this collision that it might make others think twice about driving after a night out.

“I hope that the conclusion of this court case brings some closure for Elliott’s family, and the two other young people injured in this collision, as they continue to rebuild their lives after this truly tragic incident.”