Prison for laughing gas crash driver who killed three friends

A teenager has been jailed for more than nine years for causing the death of three of his friends by dangerous driving after inhaling nitrous oxide.

- Matthew Weaver

Thomas Johnson, 19, was driving a BMW 3 Series at speeds of more than 100mph in June last year when he crashed the car, killing his three passengers.

Those killed in the crash in Marcham, near Abingdon, Oxfordshire, were Elliot Pullen, 17, Ethan Goddard, 18, and Daniel Hancock, 18.

Yesterday Johnson was sentenced to nine years and four months in prison. Passing sentence at Oxford crown court, Judge Emma Nott told Johnson he will be "forever defined" by his "teenage mistakes".

She said his facial disfiguration as a result of the crash will be a "permanent reminder" to himself and others that he killed his friends.

"Your three passengers will never see beyond their teenage years and you move out of yours significantly and permanently disabled," she said.