Driver using WhatsApp killed teen crossing road

A 25-year-old woman has been jailed for five and a half years after hitting a 14-year-old boy who was crossing a road while she was distracted by a messaging app.

Christopher Arnett was killed after being hit by a car driven by Evie Wiles in Hemel Hempstead, Hertfordshire, on 2 February 2023.

Judge Andrew Hatton said Wiles, of Lockers Park Lane in the town, had gone through a red light at a junction and been distracted by a WhatsApp conversation.

Wiles, who was found guilty of causing death by dangerous driving at a trial earlier this year, has been sentenced at Luton Crown Court.

The judge said he rejected Wiles's account that the traffic light was on amber on the evening of the collision, at the junction of London Road and Two Waters Road.

He said Wiles had been exchanging WhatsApp messages with her partner, who she had been travelling to collect.

"I'm satisfied you were distracted by your phone and that exchange of messages," the judge said.

The boy's mother Claire Arnett, who is a teacher, addressed Wiles in the dock, and said: "You've not once said sorry... you never even called 999."

Wiles looked straight ahead as she was sentenced.

She was told she could be released on licence after serving half of this.

She was banned from driving for five years, with an extension of 30 months "intended to ensure that on your release you're subject to a ban of around five years".

Christopher's parents Claire and Lee Arnett, who live in Hemel Hempstead, said in a statement: "Losing a child is painful enough, but the brutal way that Christopher was taken from us will haunt us until our dying breaths."

They said they had been "forced" to go through the "trauma of a trial".

"We are pleased that she has finally been made to face the consequences of her actions, although we are disappointed by her sentence.

"Nothing will ever bring our boy back, but it would have at least given us some comfort if we felt that the punishment fitted the crime."

They said Christopher had been an Explorer Scout and was about to start his Duke of Edinburgh Award.

"He was in the top set for every subject at school, but more than that he was kind," they said.

"Our lives will never be the same again. Our house is no longer a home.

"We can't escape the life sentence she has left us with, but if any good can come from this, it is that this will serve as a warning to other drivers of the devastating, life-changing consequences of dangerous driving and using their phones at the wheel."

Sam Collard, solicitor from Osbornes Law representing Christopher's parents, added: "What Claire and Lee have been through is unimaginable and I am in awe of the dignified way in which they have conducted themselves throughout these proceedings, which must have been incredibly distressing."

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