Mercy call by mother of fatal crash victim Samantha Jennings

"I look at her picture every night, I can't believe she is not there. I feel like a part of me has died with her."

These are the heartbreaking words of a devastated mother consumed by grief since her beautiful daughter Samantha was tragically taken away in a car crash at just 26.

But, despite still mourning for her precious girl, Mrs Jennings has bravely shown mercy to Samantha's boyfriend, the man who caused her death. At Worcester Crown Court yesterday, she asked judge Patrick Thomas QC not to give Thomas Whitehouse an immediate jail term.

Whitehouse, aged 23, of Burns Close in Stourbridge, lost control of his Vauxhall car and crashed into a wall and then a tree on the A449 in Cookley in December last year. Samantha, who was sat in the front passenger seat, was pronounced dead less than an hour after the crash at 1.15am.

Whitehouse had smoked cannabis but it was unclear when or how much he had – and has no recollection of the crash.

He fractured his pelvis and both legs, one of which had to be amputated as a result of the crash. While recovering in hospital in January he was visited by footballer David Beckham and actor Ray Winstone – pictures he later posted on his Facebook site.

After pleading guilty to causing death by careless driving and possession of cannabis, Whitehouse was handed a four-month prison sentence, suspended for 12 months, by Judge Patrick Thomas QC.

During the hearing, Mr Paul Whitfield, prosecuting, said Mrs Jennings did not want Whitehouse to receive an immediate prison sentence. Judge Thomas said: "She (Mrs Jennings) has expressed a view as to sentence and is entitled to express that view. But she can't take that burden from the judge whose task it is to make it."

Mr Gurdeep Garcha, defending, said Mrs Jennings had remained in contact with Whitehouse's family since her death. At the hearing, she sat next to the defendant's mother.

Mr Garcha said: "They have comforted each other – it speaks volumes about her as a human being. She has found it within herself to forgive Whitehouse for what happened."

The court heard how Samantha, a care worker for adults with severe disabilities, had been in a relationship with Whitehouse since the summer of last year. She was the mother of two sons, now aged 10 and nine, from a previous relationship.

Mr Whitfield said: "They had a loving relationship and Samantha Jennings told her mother she was in love with Tom Whitehouse and he treated her better than any other man she had known."

But tragedy was to strike after Whitehouse had taken Samantha to the German market in Birmingham on December 8. On return, they socialised with friends in Stourbridge before going for a drive with Whitehouse's best friend Leander Mock.

While driving back to Stourbridge on the A449, Whitehouse lost control on a right-hand bend, mounted a curb and rotated, hitting a sandstone wall and then a tree. Police estimated he was travelling at 76mph.

Samantha was found 42ft from the car. Mr Mock was found wandering near the scene of the crash. He suffered minor injuries. None of the people in the car were wearing seat belts. Mr Whitfield described the impact of Samantha's death on the family.

He said: "At 4am Deborah Jennings got the news of the tragedy, her expression was her life then fell apart. When the boys were woken up they knew something was wrong. They were sat down and told their mother had gone to heaven to be with grandad. There was not a dry eye in the house."

Mr Whitfield read parts of a victim impact statement made by Mrs Jennings. In it, she said: "I dream of what happened to Samantha, she is in my head everyday, everything reminds me of her. A mother should never have to bury her child."