Busselton crash: Teen sentenced to 40-months detention over crash which killed Buckley Spicer and Luke Hopkins

The young woman behind the wheel of a fatal crash south of Busselton earlier this year will spend her 18th birthday behind bars as she’s sentenced to more than three years for the death of two teenagers. Family and friends of the 17-year-old Busselton girl and her six teenage victims embraced in tears as she was sentenced to 40 months detention, only days out from her milestone birthday. In April this year the girl packed her mum’s Ford Falcon with six friends and acquaintances — including two in the boot — and drove at speeds up to 200km/h before she lost control, slamming the car into trees with enough force to split it in half. Two of her passengers, Buckley Spicer, 16, and Luke Hopkins, 15, died at the scene as a result of head injuries while she was airlifted to Royal Perth hospital with serious injuries. Within months, the young girl was charged with two counts of manslaughter and four counts of endangering the life, health and safety of a person after video Buckley Spicer’s phone showed her reckless behaviour. In an act of strength during sentencing, Luke’s mother Leanne Hopkins read out a victim impact statement describing the effect her son’s death has had on family and friends. “This has been the most traumatic experience of my life,” she said. “Everyday he never leaves my thoughts and my heart aches, I wander around my house kissing his photos.... I am a shell of the person I once was. “Every night when I try to sleep I have vivid nightmares, I see my son’s lifeless body in the hospital battered and bruised and picture him hitting the tree in a situation totally out of his control. “My daughter Ruby will never have her big brother to guide her, protect her, to one day see her make her own family, she is now an only child and that is devastating beyond words. Ms Hopkins revealed in her statement her son had not been friends with the driver of the vehicle, only the other passengers, and had met her for the first time that night. Through her lawyer Alex Mossop the teen driver felt she “deserved” detention for her actions, has written apology notes to the families of all her victims and would forever me remorseful for her actions. Children’s Court President Hylton Quail took into consideration dozens of materials showing her maturity, lack of criminal and traffic record and prior good character, however felt the outcome and public message were too great to determine anything other than detention. Quoting a victim impact statement by Buckley’s grandmother, Judge Quail said the community needed to understand the responsibility that came with a licence. “I hope a clear message is sent that if you’re old enough to drive a car, a lethal weapon, you must take responsibility for your actions,” the grandmother wrote. Labelling the girls actions as out of character and the consequences as tragic, Judge Quail handed down the sentence and made her eligible for release after 20 months. Her driver’s licence was also suspended for three years.