Show-off driver, 19, left mate with broken spine

A SHOWOFF speeding driver left two friends injured by crashing her new car on her birthday.

- ROB KENNEDY

Chloe Leech had picked up the BMW just hours before the crash and had taken it for a spin at the coast.

A court heard she had been “racing” with another car on her 19th birthday before she lost control as she overtook another vehicle, causing her car to roll over multiple times before coming to rest in a field.

One of her passengers suffered a fractured spine and another was also injured, Newcastle Crown Court heard.

Now, Leech, of Newington Drive, North Shields, has been given a suspended prison sentence.

The court heard Leech had picked up the BMW 116 on January 9, 2023.

Later that day, she arranged to meet her friend to celebrate her birthday and show off her new car.

The two women went to Tynemouth for some food and Leech then suggested they go for a drive and they headed to Blyth.

Joe Culley, prosecuting, said Leech was speeding on the way and her friend said she was bragging “I bet you didn’t feel you were doing 80 in a 30”.

The court heard they parked at South Beach in Blyth and encountered others in a VW Golf. Leech continued to show off her car and when she left the car park, the Golf followed her. Mr Culley said: “They travelled back down the coast. They were racing.”

Leech then went to St Mary's Lighthouse, where she had arranged to pick up two male friends to show them her new car. When they left Whitley Bay, she encountered the Golf again and pulled up alongside it, saying: “Your car is slow.”

She then headed back towards Blyth and her female friend was becoming concerned and telling her to slow down.