The parents of a “beautiful, intelligent and caring” teenager killed when a drunk driver lost control of his car have revealed her last words.
Jack Burkhill, 21, was driving Felicity Pacey and her sister Rhiannah when he crashed his Hyundai I30 at 100mph in Denton, Lincolnshire in June last year. Trainee financial advisor Felicity, 17, was killed in the tragedy. On Friday, at Lincoln Crown Court, Burkhill was sentenced to eight years and three months in prison by Judge Simon Hirst who also disqualified him from driving for over nine years.
Felicity's parents were the first to arrive on the scene after her sister called them following the crash and started CPR before paramedics arrived. Felicity’s mother said: “Felicity, Fliss, our beautiful, intelligent, confident, thoughtful and caring girl who had her life panned out.
Jack Burkhill has been jailed for causing Felicity's death"My heart has been ripped out of my chest, stamped on, and put back in. I suffer with panic attacks when I think of Felicity not coming home. We were first on the scene and had to start CPR on our child. No parent should ever have to do that. Seeing my baby girl lying on that verge, that lifeless body. I replay it every time I pass that scene."
“The last words I said to her were 'have fun' and she said 'we will'. Those words will haunt me to eternity. You killed our precious girl. You ran from the scene like the coward you are and left us to deal with the consequences.
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"The pain you have caused is impossible to put into words. I never thought it possible to shed tears every day. Simple tasks like shopping are daunting. When I go alone I scream in the car and my tears are uncontrollable."
Burkhill admitted causing Felicity's death by dangerous driving at a hearing on April 25. Prosecutor David Webster said Burkhill was "intoxicated to an extent it impaired his ability to drive safely". He added the defendant was "showing off" and had only had the car for two weeks when the crash happened.
Burkhill had been drinking in a pub during the day before getting behind the wheel with Felicity, her sister, and another person. He drove less than two miles before losing control on the outskirts of Denton village. Witness evidence suggests he had been driving in excess of 100mph as he drove down the country road.
He drove over a humped bridge too fast and lost control of his vehicle on the approach to a right-hand bend. The court was told how Burkhill was anxious to show off his high-performance vehicle which he had only had for a couple of weeks.
Felicity’s sister, Rhiannah, who was Burkhill’s girlfriend at the time, said: "It has left a gaping hole in my heart. I wake up every day hoping it was only a nightmare. It took weeks and weeks to even sleep in my own bed. The emptiness without her beside me is suffocating. If only I had never met you."
Jonathan Pacey, Felicity’s father, said: "Felicity was our baby girl, the glue that held our family together. When she was little, I called her my teddy bear.
"Wherever we went we would put music on and sing together in the car. At work I struggle when I’m alone and at night when I’m trying to sleep. I shouldn’t have to outlive my baby girl, it’s not fair. Jack has left us broken. I trusted him with our daughters. He has shown no remorse."
Felicity was thrown from the vehicle and caused injuries so serious she could not survive them. Burkhill had passed his driving test some 21 months prior to the collision but had owned the car for less than three weeks.
Fliss' father, Jonathan, performed CPR on his daughter when he arrived at the scene, which he described as "the worst thing" he'd ever had to do. Judge Hirst said: "It is very clear indeed Fliss was an incredibly loved young woman who had the brightest of bright futures in front of her."
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