Grieving family back road safety campaign
The family of a young footballer killed by a speeding driver has backed a road safety charity’s campaign urging motorists to slow down.
Ryan Coney’s grieving relatives are supporting Brake’s Road Safety Week following the death of the popular 22-year-old earlier this year.
The factory worker suffered fatal chest injuries when a Suzuki Swift he was a front seat passenger in crashed into a wall.
The driver, Morgan Chaplin, 18, had cocaine and cannabis in his system and was travelling at more than twice the speed limit when he lost control of the car and hit a garden wall in Pelsall, Walsall.
The Court was also told that Chaplin had never before driven on a public road.
Now Ryan’s family, which is receiving ongoing support from expert serious injury lawyers at Irwin Mitchell, is backing Brake’s campaign in a bid to prevent other families having to endure its heartbreak.
Ryan’s mother, Vivienne, 51, said: “Our family has been torn apart by Ryan’s unnecessary death.
“There is still not a day goes by that we don’t think of Ryan and how his hopes and dreams for the future have been snatched away."
Wolverhampton Crown Court was told that Chaplin was travelling at 63 mph in a 30 mph zone in Lichfield Road, Pelsall, when he lost control of the Suzuki, clipped a kerb and ploughed into a wall.
Ryan, the youngest of four children alongside Lee, 29, Jemma, 28 and Dean, 27, died shortly after the collision which happened at about 7pm on February 11. Two other passengers in the car survived the collision.
Chaplin, of Bloxwich, Walsall, was sentenced to three years and four months in jail after he pleaded guilty to causing death by dangerous driving. He will serve half of that sentence before being released on licence. Upon on his release from prison, the teenager must also serve a five-year driving ban.
Irwin Mitchell has teamed up with Brake to support Road Safety Week which runs between 20 and 26 November. This year’s main focus is on encouraging motorists to slow down and help reduce road fatalities.
Rebecca Hearsey, expert road accident lawyer at Irwin Mitchell, representing Ryan’s family, said: “We often see first-hand the devastation that can be caused by the stupidity of drivers who break the speed limit.
“Ryan and his family have paid the ultimate price because of Morgan Chaplin’s selfish actions."
