Teen driver on laughing gas jailed for killing his friends

A 19-year-old who caused the death of three teenagers after inhaling nitrous oxide and driving at speeds of more than 100mph, has been jailed for nine years and four months.

- ROSIE SHEAD

Thomas Johnson was behind the wheel of a BMW 3 series when the car crashed into roadside furniture and a tree, killing three passengers, on the A415 in Marcham, Oxfordshire last year.

During the sentencing hearing at Oxford Crown Court yesterday, prosecutor Neil Moore showed the court several short video clips recovered from the phones of those who had been travelling in the car in which a balloon, typically used to inhale the gas, could be seen "in the mouth of the defendant", he said.

Mr Moore said: "It's quite clear on the evidence that the defendant had been taking nitrous oxide from the canister with the assistance of a balloon to inhale it for some considerable time before the collision."

One canister of nitrous oxide was found in the driver's footwell and a further eight were found in the boot of the car, the court heard.

Elliot Pullen, 17, Ethan Goddard, 18 and Daniel Hancock, 18, were killed in the crash on 20 June 2023. The force of the collision "ripped the roof off" the car and all three victims suffered "unsurvivable injuries" and were pronounced dead at the scene, the court heard.

A forensic investigation found that, at the time of the crash, the car was travelling at up to 87mph along a stretch of road where the speed limit was 30mph, and no mechanical defects, road or weather conditions contributed to the accident, the prosecution said.