A woman has spoken of her terror before the overloaded car she was a passenger in crashed at 100mph on Christmas Day, killing her friend.
Drink driver Charlie Hilton, 25, was chased by police before his Mercedes hit a tree, flipped over and burst into flames early on December 25, 2021.
Kitchen designer Lillie Clack, 21, was fatally injured and died days later. A witnesses told the inquest the explosion “looked like a video game”.
The friends had been enjoying the Winter Wonderland attraction in the West End and visited a pub in Morden before accepting a lift home from Hilton in his mother’s car.
Residents in Beeches Avenue, Carshalton, south London, grabbed fire extinguishers and rushed to help.
Delia Casey, who was in the front passenger seat next to Hilton and one of six in the vehicle, believed the whole incident lasted “a few seconds”, remembering hitting her head on the roof and little else afterwards.
“Everyone was shouting inside the car,” she said.
“There was a lot going on and I was just feeling fearful for everyone in the car.
“The speed we were going at made me feel terrified. It was all happening in what seemed like a few seconds.
“It feels like a blur. Even after I visited Lily’s tree [set up in her memory], I still have no memory of the accident.”
Ms Clack’s mother Debbie sat in a front row of the inquest at Croydon Town Hall with a large framed picture of her daughter.
Her boyfriend Jack Watson told the hearing he had begged the driver to stop.
In a statement Mr Watson, who was wearing a seatbelt, said he was “shocked and I remember thinking why is he going so fast” when the car sped away so quickly.
Mr Watson, who was in the back seat, later recalled: “I think I might have said ‘Charlie what are you doing, why are you going so fast’. I think the girls were in shock.”
He remembered seeing police blue lights and sirens and described Hilton’s driving as “dangerous and quick”.
During the journey, he said: “I thought Charlie could easily lose control. I did not want to be in the car. I felt scared because I had been in a crash before on my bike.”
Mr Watson said “it felt too fast” and he wanted to get out saying “it just felt unsafe”.
He remembered saying “Charlie, slow down. What are you doing? Let me and Lillie out.”
Mr Watson recalled Hilton telling him to shut up.
He could not remember all the details of the chase, the inquest heard, but he remembered Hilton running a red light at some point before the crash. Hilton did an illegal U-turn and was undertaking and overtaking vehicles.
Mr Watson added: “I do not remember hitting a tree. The only memory I have is being pulled out on a stretcher and bleeding from my lip.”
He added: “I remember asking ‘where’s Lillie?’. I remember being in an ambulance and blood on my jacket but I do not know where the blood came from.
“My clothing was cut off from me – and I knew then that it was bad.”
South London Assistant Coroner Sebastian Naughton is hearing evidence from three Metropolitan Police officers involved in the pursuit of Hilton and a control room witness.
Nadia Avent, who was in an taxi when she saw the car explode in the early hours, said: “The car overtook a taxi at great speed. It looked like a video game because of the speed he went past us.”
She added that she saw “the car exploding in front of us” and then dialled 999 to inform the emergency services.
At the time, Hilton, who lived on a caravan park in Tadworth, Surrey, was over the drink-drive limit and had overloaded the car with five passengers.
Hilton had 11 previous convictions, including for motoring offences, and had been jailed for 10 months for possession with intent to supply a psychoactive substance.
He pleaded guilty to causing Ms Clack’s death by dangerous driving, three counts of causing serious injury, failing to stop when directed and driving above the alcohol limit. In February 2023, Hilton was jailed for 10 years and six months at the Old Bailey.
Mrs Clack, a dental nurse, described her popular, hard-working daughter as her “pride and joy”.
As a “beautiful” blonde and blue-eyed teenager, she had brought joy to children’s parties when she dressed as Disney princesses Cinderella and Elsa, she said.
The family is campaigning for Lillie’s Law which advocates for drivers found to be over the alcohol limit to have their license immediately suspended and lifetime bans for those convicted of causing death or serious injury while driving.
The inquest continues
