A mum has branded the driver who killed her son and then tried to blame him, a “coward”.
Jo Barik, has spoken of her heartbreak of watching her only son die and told how she never wants “anyone else to feel this pain”.
Gardener, Josh Moir-Barik, 23, from Rothwell, who ran his own business in Leeds, suffered fatal head and chest injuries in a horror crash.
The collision was caused by unlicensed driver Paul Morgan, 31, a court heard.
Josh had pleaded with the driver to slow down as he reached speeds of 70mph, a court heard.
But Morgan, crashed the car on a sharp bend then fled the scene, leaving his passenger trapped in the car wreckage.
This week he was jailed for more than six years after a court heard he was travelling on false number plates with a severely deflated tyre when he attempted to evade police.
Leeds crown court heard how Josh suffered head and chest injuries and tragically died the next day on July 8th, 2019.
When Morgan, from Leeds, was arrested he tried to blame the crash in East Ardsley in Leeds on Josh by saying he had pulled the handbrake, the court heard.
He was locked up for six years and eight months.
Josh’s mum, Jo, 51 from Sherburn in Elmet in North Yorkshire, said:
“My initial thoughts and that of my family is we are pleased Paul Morgan is off the roads.
“Josh was my best friend, and I struggle to comprehend how I have and will get through my life without my boy.
“Having my daughter, Georgia, and newborn granddaughter, Erin, has so far saved me from the darkest of despair.
“I wake every morning and go to sleep thinking about my boy.
“I hurt unimaginably at the actions Paul Morgan took – he made decisions known to him and he caused the crash and then he ran away, lied and tried to blame my son.
“The investigation and the court process enabled the truth of what really mattered to become public, it showed him to be a liar and Judge Clarke summed Morgan up perfectly - he is a coward.”
The court heard how after the incident Morgan went on to commit further offences of driving without a licence or insurance.
Morgan eventually pleaded guilty to causing death by dangerous driving, causing death by driving while disqualified and causing death by driving while uninsured.
Judge Neil Clark, sentencing, told Morgan: “You acted like a coward. You did not even wait when your friend was trapped in the car and badly injured. You ran away.”
Hel’d been told that when police tried to stop Morgan in the Volkswagen Polo, by putting on their blue lights, he instead took off.
The prosecutor said Morgan climbed from the wreckage of the vehicle and fled, leaving Josh and another passenger trapped inside.
One passenger suffered serious lung injuries but has since recovered while Josh tragically died from his injuries.
When Morgan was arrested a day after the crash he tried to minimise his involvement by lying about the cause of the crash, the court heard.
Richard Reed, mitigating for Morgan, said: his client is “profoundly sorry” for the death of Josh.
Sentencing Morgan, Judge Clark said: “Josh Moir-Barik was someone you knew.
“He was only 23 years old. He was clearly loved by his family. I was moved by their statements today.
“You have left that family with a loss that will be with them forever.
“You took a totally irresponsible risk with your life and the lives of the others in that car.”
As well as a custodial sentence Morgan was also banned from driving for eight years and four months.
