The devastated mum of one of the boys who tragically died in a horror crash in Leeds four years ago said she was ‘disgusted’ after the killer was caught driving this year.
Darnell Harte was just 15 when he lost his life after Jason Lee Asquith,19, lost control of a stolen Renault Clio and smashed into a tree in Meanwood on November 25, 2017.
The car struck the tree at 88mph and ‘split in two’ and resulted in the tragic deaths of Darnell, Ellis, 12, and Elliot Thornton, 14, Anthony Armour, 28, and Robbie Meerun, 24.
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Asquith, who was 15 at the time of the tragedy, admitted to causing the deaths of all five people by dangerous driving and was sentenced to four and a half years’ detention.
He was released early on February 28 2020 and was caught driving in the Lake District in August without a license, insurance or MOT.
Darnell’s mum Shelley Harte, 39, said she couldn’t believe Asquith was already out and driving after he ‘destroyed five families’.
Just weeks away from what would have been Darnell’s 19th birthday and the anniversary of the crash, she said she has been made to relive the horror.
She branded the light sentence Asquith received as a ‘joke’ and added the families have been left to live with a ‘life sentence’.
Shelley said: “They’ve given him seven days. He killed five people and got away with it, how many more lives is he going to take.
“Five families he has destroyed. It’s an absolute joke.
“He used a car as a weapon and he gets away with it.
“This has brought it all back for us, it’s like being at square one again.
“How do they expect us to get on with our lives when things like this are allowed to happen.
"Something needs to be done.
“Why should five families have to sit back. We are living a life sentence, not him.”
Shelley said Asquith showed ‘no remorse’ getting behind the wheel and said the families of the victims felt like there was ‘no justice’.
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She added: “He had a chance to change his life around and he chose not to.
“Him and his family just living their happy life.
“It’s been absolutely horrific.
“He should never be able to get into a car ever again.”
The furious mum said she is now campaigning for a change in sentencing guidelines and intends to take her fight to Downing Street.
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