Crash victim Claire was described as ‘beautiful, funny, smart and loving’
A mum lost her life when a driver smashed into her at “unbelievable speed”. Claire Laybourne was returning from taking her mum to a trip to the theatre as part of her Christmas present, she cautiously overtook a broken down car on the A19 in North Tyneside.
Ryan Scott then drove onto the scene at 114mph in a car he wasn’t insured to drive. Chronicle Live reports that although the car’s emergency braking system kicked in, he was still doing 88mph when he smashed into Claire’s car.
Claire was fatally injured and her mother badly hurt as “cowardly” Scott fled the scene on foot, Newcastle Crown Court heard. The 28-year-old, formerly of Chasedale Crescent, Cowpen, Blyth, has been jailed for ten years.
It was around 10.30pm of December 5 last year that Claire, mum of seven-year-old George and 22-year-old Faye, had been out with her mum, Heather Appleby, for a meal followed by a show at Sunderland Empire theatre. They were returning home, with Claire, 39, driving her VW T-Roc north on the A19.
It was raining and there were no street lights on the road, as they approached the Holystone turn off. A man had broken down shortly before the turn off in his Volvo and his car had come to a stop in the left hand lane and he had put his hazard lights on to warn others of the obstruction.
Claire, of Hebburn, saw the broken down car and slowed to 20 to 30mph indicating to overtake it. As a motorist behind her prepared to do the same, he checked his wing mirror.
Glenn Gatland, prosecuting, said: “As he did so, he heard a very loud engine noise which he described as shocking him. He saw the vehicle passing him at an ‘unbelievable speed’, in his words, with such magnitude it caused his van to rock from side to side with wind resistance.
“He then heard a bang ‘like a bomb going off’.” The Skoda Fabia driven by Scott had smashed into the Claire’s car, lifted off the ground, cleared the full height of the T-Roc then hit a barrier, spinning through 360 degrees a number of times.
Mr Gatland said data from the Skoda showed that seconds before the impact, it was doing 114mph with 100% acceleration, meaning it was going at the maximum possible speed. An automated braking system had activated, reducing its speed to 88mph at the point of impact.
After the crash, a witness spoke to Scott at the scene before he ran away north up the A19, not looking back. Claire, who had suffered extensive fractures to the base of her skull and multiple rib fractures, was airlifted to hospital but subsequently died with her family at her bedside.
Her mum suffered broken ribs, bleeding on the brain, severe whiplash, cuts and bruises. In a victim impact statement, Heather said: “Emotionally, I am a complete mess.
“I feel terrible guilt because Claire and I had been to see a show at the Sunderland Empire and she was taking me home when the accident happened. The show was a treat from Claire for me as an early Christmas present.
“We had had a great night out with a lovely meal before the show. This was the sort of thing Claire and I enjoyed doing.
“We were very close, she was my only daughter and she was my best friend. I feel guilty because I survived when she had so much more living to do.
“I am still getting flashbacks from the aftermath from the accident although I do not remember the actual collision. I have horrible nightmares.
“I close my eyes and all I can see is Claire next to me holding her hand while she was dying and I could do nothing to help her. I am terrified every time I have to go in a car.
“If it’s dark or raining, I just sit and cry in the back seat. Losing my daughter in such a senseless way is something I can’t come to terms with.
“I am sure everyone thinks that their daughter is wonderful, but my girl truly was. The loss of Claire is something I don’t think I’ll ever get over but the loss to her partner Ben, her daughter Faye and her little boy George is truly horrendous.
“Claire was beautiful, funny, smart and loving. She was the kindest person I’ve ever known and it was a privilege to be her mother.”
Claire’s daughter, Faye, 22, who lives in New Zealand, said: “My mam was the most loving, kind and happy person you could ever meet. She had a way of making people feel loved, welcomed and cared for, and she was deeply loved by so many.
“She left a lasting impact on everyone who knew her, and the loss of her has been felt far beyond our immediate family. My mam was the kindest person I’d ever met, she was never involved in any confrontation, earning her the nickname ‘Can’t confront Claire’.
“My mam loved and accepted everyone for who they were. She lit up every room she walked in too, if she was smiling so was everybody else in the room.
“I really did think that with us having such a small age gap that we would have forever together. I was so privileged to have a mam, and a best-friend in one even though everyone thought we were sisters.
“The way my mam was taken from us has caused unimaginable pain. Her death was sudden, violent and unfair.
“We were robbed from the chance to say goodbye, and she was robbed from the chance to live the life she deserved. Knowing that the person responsible chose to leave her there has added a level of trauma and heartbreak that is hard to put into words.
“Our family has been permanently broken by this loss. There is an empty space that can never be filled.
“This is not something that time will heal. It is something we will carry with us every day for the rest of our lives.
“I want the court to understand that my mam was not just a name or a statistic. She was a loving mother, a happy and caring person and someone who mattered deeply.
“Her life had meaning, and her death has caused lifelong pain to those she left behind especially her children.”
Claire’s fiance, Ben Dewar, added: “There are no words that can truly describe, express and explain the impact Claire’s death has had on our family. Claire was my partner, my soulmate, and my person.
“She was kind, caring, funny, loving, and full of warmth. She had a way of lighting up every room she entered and made people feel safe and valued simply by being herself.
“The impact on our son, George, has been devastating. He has lost his mam, the person who should have been there to guide him, comfort him, and watch him grow, to be there for all of his milestone moments in life.
“George and Claire were so close. He was the apple of her eye.
“Explaining to a seven-year-old, in the family room of the RVI that his mam is going to die, to watch him struggle to breathe and sob uncontrollably and for him to ask “why my mam” is the hardest moment of my life, one that again I replay in my head a thousand times a day. He gripped my hand tightly at Claire’s funeral, offering me the support Claire would usually be there to give.
“George is unable to sleep in his own room since Claire was killed. He seeks the reassurance dad is there and holds me tightly when I eventually come to bed.”
Ben added: “We were planning to get married this September. I had booked a trip to New York for her 40th birthday.
“The loss of Claire has left a permanent void in my life. I am lost without her.
“I live with constant sadness, sadness that she is gone, sadness that our future together will never be fulfilled, and sadness that I have lost the person who was my home. There is not a minute that passes where I do not feel her absence in every room.
“Claire was deeply loved by everyone she met. She truly touched so many people.
“She mattered. Our life together mattered.
“The impact of her death is not temporary — it is lifelong, we have the life sentence in all of this. It affects how I live, how I parent, how I see the future, and who I am as a person.”
Scott, who has 13 previous convictions, pleaded guilty to causing death by dangerous driving, causing serious injury by dangerous driving, causing death while uninsured and failing to stop after an accident. Jailing him for ten years and banning him from driving for 13 years and eight months, Judge Tim Gittins branded his decision to flee “cowardly”.
He said of Claire’s death: “It was unnecessary, wholly avoidable, simply because of your arrogant decision to drive and to drive in that manner.”
When Scott was arrested the following day he tested positive for cocaine but prosecutors could not prove if he had taken it before or after the crash. The judge said while he suspected he had taken it before the collision he disregarded it from his decision on sentence.
The court heard Scott had only past his driving test last summer and had been using his friend’s car for a few days before the accident. He told police in interview of the conditions that night: “I could hardly see mate, it was f****** bucketing”.
He said he adapted to the conditions by putting his wipers on faster. Penny Hall, defending, said groundworker Scott had used his friend’s car to go shopping and having caused the collision through his excessive speed, he “panicked” and fled the scene.
She added that he is remorseful, has insight and it’s his first time in prison. The court heard references from friends and family speak highly of him and he had a troubled childhood.
