Richard Young was rushing to get his girlfriend, Kimberley Wilson, home on time after the England v Portugal Euro 2004 match, which they had been watching on television, had gone into penalties.

Three other friends were in the back seat as he accelerated to 50mph in a 40mph limit in Hinckley, Leicestershire.

Richard, who was 18 at the time and had passed his test only 13 days before, looked over his shoulder in response to a comment from one of the friends. As he did so, he clipped the kerb and, in trying to correct the car, pressed the accelerator instead of the brake.

The car smashed into a telegraph pole, spun round and hit a brick wall. Kimberley, who was 16 and sitting in the front passenger seat, died at the scene of severe head injuries. One of those in the back seat suffered two broken legs and another a broken pelvis. Richard had only cuts and bruises.

His father, Adrian, came across the crash scene while he and Kimberley’s parents were driving around together looking for their children.

Eight months later Richard was sentenced to three years in prison for causing death by dangerous driving. Adrian said that Richard had tried to hang himself during the first two weeks but later found that the time he spent in prison helped him to come to terms with what he had done.

Adrian copes with his own grief by going into schools with Brake, the road safety charity, to talk to young people about the dangers of bad driving.

“Most males under the age of 25 think they are invincible. They think terrible things will always happen to someone else.

“Young people learn how to pass the test, not how to be a safe driver. They need to hear from victims about the consequences of taking risks and learn how a phone call to say you will be late is a better option than speeding.”

Adrian believes that there should be restrictions on how many passengers novice drivers are allowed to carry.

“There was 40 stone in the back of that car and it changed the way it handled. Richard had 30 professional lessons but each time there was just an instructor in the passenger seat.”

Richard was released on licence in August and is currently serving a five-year driving ban.

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