‘My daughter’s future was stolen from her… we have been given a life sentence of grief’

Demi Leigh Davies, 17, was a passenger in Leon Callaghan’s car when she was killed on the M65 motorway

The life of a Lancashire teenager described as beautiful, funny, caring and selfless, was cruelly cut short when the car she was a passenger in crashed on the M65.

Demi Leigh Davies, 17, was a passenger in the car Leon Callaghan was driving when she was killed. Callaghan, now 19, was driving at speeds of up to 113mph when he lost control of his Seat Ibiza near Junction 9 of the M65 in the early hours of October 2, 2024.

Lancashire Police said Callaghan was driving in a dedicated exit lane when he carried out a late manoeuvre to rejoin the main carriageway.

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The car hit a bullnose point and lost control, crossing all three lanes, hitting the central reservation, and rebounding back towards the hard shoulder. The car then struck the barrier and rolled several times before coming to rest on the embankment.

Tragically, Demi Leigh, from Darwen, suffered multiple injuries and was sadly pronounced dead at the hospital. Two other passengers, girls aged 17 and 19, also suffered serious injuries but have since recovered. Callaghan was also seriously injured.

Callaghan, of Harwood Street, Darwen, admitted causing death by dangerous driving at a hearing earlier this year. This week, he appeared before Preston Crown Court on Friday, June 26, where he was jailed for five years and three months.

When questioned later, Callaghan claimed he had blacked out at the start of his manoeuvre, did not remember driving at over 100mph and that his foot must have got stuck between the pedals, causing the excessive speed, said Lancashire Police.

‘Her future was taken from her’

Demi had just been offered her first job in a care home, a role her mum said she would be perfect for, given her caring nature.

In a victim personal statement read to the court on behalf of the family, Demi’s mum, Gemma, said continuing to live when Demi wasn’t there was the most difficult and heartbreaking struggle she had ever had to go through.

She added: “There are no words that can truly describe the pain of losing a child. Every day I wake up with the reality that my daughter is gone.

“Every day I am reminded that I will never hear her voice again, never hear her laugh again, never be able to hold her again or hear her call me mum.

“As a family, we will never see Demi become the woman she was meant to be. We will never see her progress in the career she had just begun. We will never see her achieve her dreams, fall in love, get married, or have children of her own.

“We will never know what her future would have looked like because it was taken from her before she had the chance to live it.

“Demi was only beginning her journey into adulthood. She had her whole future ahead of her. That future was stolen from her, and our family has been left to live with that loss every single day.

“Nothing can undo the pain and suffering that her death has caused. We have been given a life sentence of grief, and we will carry that burden for the rest of our lives.”

Detective Constable Olivia Maidment, of Lancashire Police’s Serious Collision Investigation Unit, said: “Demi Leigh was clearly a much loved young woman with her whole life ahead of her and my thoughts today are with all of her loved ones.

“Nothing can ever compensate for the loss of a life, but I hope at least that this sentence gives Demi Leigh’s family some sense that justice has been done.”

Callaghan will also be banned from driving for seven years after his release and have to take an extended test before he can get behind the wheel again.