Unbearable agony for the rest of my life

Gloria Marshall, mother of Katherine and Aaron Sharpe, two of the eight who died when a speeding BMW driven by a teenage friend crashed on the A23, said she still lived with unbearable agony she knew would last for the rest of her life.

Mrs Marshall, from Crawley, said after inquest verdicts on those who died when the car rammed a Land Rover Freelander head-on at Newtimber, north of Brighton: "Life is so very precious and I hope more of us will stop and think and will realise this.

"I miss Aaron and Katherine and their friends so very much. There is so much of life they have missed as a result of this accident."

Her daughter would have been 19 yesterday and Mrs Marshall said she still needed to know what caused the BMW to crash.

She said: "My children will tell me when we are together again, in a better place." The inquest at Worthing heard Mitch Treliving, 19, was speeding, driving dangerously and had taken cannabis before the crash in which he and seven others died.

Mr Treliving, a glazier, of Tilgate Parade, Crawley, was driving a borrowed BMW which crashed over a central reservation barrier and careered into the Freelander and two other cars. He was killed with Aaron, a 20-year-old window cleaner, his sister Katherine, an 18-year-old hairdresser, both of Gossops Drive, Crawley, Gemma Smoker, 17, of Henshaw Close, Bewbush, Crawley, and Danielle Billingham, a 17-year-old student of Petworth Court, Bewbush.

Killed in the Freelander were Kate Beasley, 29, her husband Toby, 33, and two-year-old Marcus Mohabir, all from Godalming, Surrey.

Mrs Marshall said she still found it difficult to accept Aaron and Katherine's deaths.

She said: "The inquest has brought back many of the feelings of shock and disbelief, mingled with the physical pain of having lost my children, I had when I first found out they and their friends had been involved in this horrific car crash.

"The numbness I felt for so long is beginning to wear off and I realise how my whole body aches with the pain.

"I, like many others, wish I could turn the clock back.

"Many of us are tempted to drive too fast and do not take enough care or thought for others.

"No one should underestimate what a lethal weapon a vehicle can become.

"The rules of the road and speed limits are there for our protection.

"The loss of eight wonderful, innocent people is just further proof of what the consequences can be.

"Let this be a warning to all those who have got away with it so far. It can happen to any of us and we should not be naive and think we can escape the possibility."

"Life is so very precious and I hope more of us will stop and think and will realise this."

Coroner Roger Stone rejected calls from Mr Treliving's insurers for a verdict of accidental death and from the parents of another victim for a verdict of unlawful killing. Instead, he gave narrative verdicts which simply described the circumstances of each death.

He said: "If you drive in the circumstances which have been described it is inevitable there will be an accident, that you will injure not only yourself but others.

"You owe a huge duty to your own fellow human beings to drive carefully and to drive safely and to drive according to the law because that is intended to prevent these terrible tragedies occurring."

Little Marcus Mohabir's father Steve, a 36-year-old chef, was trapped in the Freelander but managed to reach out and hold his dying son's hand. Still recovering from his injuries, he was in court with his wife Tracey and their two-month-old son Max.

The coroner offered sympathy to all the families, telling them to keep the memories of their loved ones in their hearts. Relatives wiped back tears and held hands as Mr Stone paid tribute to the emergency services, witnesses and those who helped at the scene.

The court heard there was no evidence supporting rumours Mr Treliving was using a mobile phone or was racing another car.

Chief Inspector James Read said there was nothing mechanically wrong with the BMW, there were no road defects and the crash barrier met the legal minimum standards. He said it was not clear that the cannabis found in Mr Treliving's body had contributed to the incident.

Witnesses suggested he was doing 75mph but the inquest heard the car could have been speeding at up to 100mph.

Police investigations showed Mr Treliving lost control and swerved. The car began to spin and rose on to the barrier and was propelled into the air. It landed on its roof on the Freelander. Sergeant Niall Griffin said: "I can only conclude the actions or inactions of Mitch Treliving leading up to and at the time of the accident directly led to him losing control of the vehicle."

Tests suggested the BMW was travelling in the high 90s or possibly 100mph.

Witnesses described seeing the BMW being driven dangerously before the crash.

Jan Warrington, from Horsham, said he saw it at Handcross driving "just inches" from the vehicle in front.

Stuart McLean saw the BMW extremely close in his rear view mirror.

He moved into the inside lane and saw the BMW overtake and then regularly undertake and overtake other vehicles ahead.

Edmond O'Toole was driving his VW Golf at between 70 and 80mph on the first sunny weekend of the summer when the BMW pulled behind him. He noticed it wobble because it was going so fast and he became so alarmed he pulled over to the slow lane. The BMW, he said, was almost out of control.

It "twitched" to regain the line it was travelling in and at one point he saw a girl in the rear of the car thrown violently from side to side.

Peter Brown was in his Jaguar doing between 75mph and 80mph at Pyecombe when the BMW came up behind him "very quickly".

He said the BMW was 150 yards ahead when he saw something come across the car a door coming off or the first sequence of the crash.

Rinalda Young told how the black BMW, going at about 100mph, sped past her.

Seconds later, she pulled into a layby when she saw the BMW spin out of control and smash into the barrier.

Stephen Wetherilt saw the BMW doing about 100mph. He caught up with it as the speed dropped to 75mph but its driver lost control and it flew into the air.

He said: "There was a twitch on the rear end of the black BMW.

"It shuddered and began to rotate and drift. The back end swung towards the centre of the road so the front end was pointing diagonally at the centre barrier. That continued until it was broadside on to the road at which point it started to somersault over the barrier."

After the hearing, relatives broke down in tears.

The parents of Kate Beasley, through a solicitor, had asked for a verdict of unlawful killing but families of others who died refused to blame anyone.

Gemma Smoker's father Terry fought back tears as he said: "Mitch was young and it was not his intention to harm anyone.

"All I would say is that when you get behind a wheel of a car you have responsibility for everyone in that vehicle.

"When something like this happens you become more aware of what can happen.

"We are all rushing about on the roads these days, going to work, dropping off kids at school.

"If just one driver slows down and avoids a crash because of this then they haven't died in vain."

He said he would like to see a sign at the crash scene: "Kill your speed, not your loved ones".

Steve Mohabir, only survivor in the Freelander, said: "Mitch, Danielle, Gemma, Katherine and Aaron went out to have a fun day down in Brighton, just like the one Toby, Kate, Marcus and I had had.

"Mitch Treliving did not intend to have a road accident and by doing so paid the biggest price."

He appealed to other drivers: "Please take a moment out and think how it could be for you not celebrating birthdays or Christmas with your children and friends.

"Marcus would have been three years old on Good Friday and I know the proudest present he would hold would be his baby brother Max.

"If you do feel any sympathy for our families and friends, please drive slower and safer because I know this will happen to someone else again.

"You will have more pain from this than from taking your foot off the accelerator."

Mitch Treliving's father Kevin, a 51-year-old carpenter from Crawley, said: "He did not go out on that day or any other day to hurt anyone.

"Mitch never had a nasty bone in his body. He was a brilliant lad. He was loved by everyone."