Driver, 19, killed three passengers after inhaling laughing gas, court hears
Thomas Johnson was behind the wheel of a BMW 3 series when the car crashed into roadside furniture and a tree, killing three passengers, on the A415.
A 19-year-old has admitted to causing the death of three teenagers by dangerous driving after inhaling nitrous oxide and travelling at speeds of more than 100mph, a court has heard.
Thomas Johnson was behind the wheel of a BMW 3 series when the car crashed into roadside furniture and a tree, killing three passengers, on the A415 in Marcham last year.
At a hearing at Oxford Crown Court on Wednesday, prosecutor Neil Moore showed the court several short video clips recovered from the phones of those who had been travelling in the car in which a balloon, typically used to inhale the gas, could be seen “in the mouth of the defendant”, he said.
Mr Moore said: “It’s quite clear on the evidence that the defendant had been taking nitrous oxide from the canister with the assistance of a balloon to inhale it for some considerable time before the collision.”
One canister of nitrous oxide was found in the driver’s footwell and a further eight were found in the boot of the car, the court heard.
Elliot Pullen, 17, Ethan Goddard, 18 and Daniel Hancock, 18, were killed in the crash on June 20 2023.
The force of the collision “ripped the roof off” the car and all three victims suffered “unsurvivable injuries” and were pronounced dead at the scene, the court heard.
A forensic investigation found that, at the time of the crash, the car was travelling at up to 87mph along the stretch of road where the speed limit was 30mph, and no mechanical defects, road or weather conditions contributed to the accident, the prosecution said.
The court heard that data from a location sharing and safety app from Mr Goddard’s phone showed that shortly before Johnson lost control of the vehicle, it was travelling at speeds of more than 100mph.
Mr Moore told the court that effects of the gas include “disorientation” and “general impairment” and an expert who had provided evidence concluded that “taking the drug is not compatible with driving a car safely and the concurrent use while driving is very dangerous due to the rapid onset of the affects”.
The defendant, of Stainswick Lane, Shrivenham, near Swindon, spoke to confirm his identity and to enter his guilty plea on all three counts in front of members of the victims’ families.
