Court Raises Liberty Mitchell Sentence to 9 Years for 2022 Crash That Killed 2

Q: Why did a court drastically increase the prison time of a driver who caused a fatal crash weeks after passing her test?

The court increased Liberty Mitchell’s sentence because the Court of Appeal found her original punishment was unduly lenient given the gravity of her conduct and its consequences. Mitchell had passed her test less than three weeks before the December 2022 crash, but the sentence increase was driven by what she did behind the wheel: driving at nearly 100 mph in a 60 mph zone, attempting to overtake three vehicles on the wrong side of the road, and crashing into a taxi, causing a pile-up that killed Octavian Codreanu and Moyra Whelan and seriously injured others. The appeal judges also had evidence that this was not a momentary lapse. Police found Snapchat videos showing Mitchell filming herself while speeding and veering into oncoming traffic on other occasions. That material supported the view that she had shown a sustained disregard for road safety rather than a single error of judgment. Another factor was that she was uninsured for the use she was making of the car. She was driving between cleaning jobs, but her policy did not cover business use, leading to additional convictions for causing death while uninsured. After her original six-year-eight-month sentence, Attorney General Ellie Reeves referred the case under the Unduly Lenient Sentence scheme, which allows serious Crown Court sentences to be reviewed by the Court of Appeal. The court then added two years and seven months, raising the total to nine years and three months, and increased her driving ban as well.

3 articles · Updated · AOL · Jul 29

Nine years and three months is the new sentence for Liberty Mitchell after the Court of Appeal added two years and seven months to her original term for a 2022 crash that killed two people.
Nearly 100 mph in a 60 mph zone, Mitchell tried to pass three vehicles on the wrong side of the road near Aldsworth, hit a taxi and triggered a multi-car pile-up, prosecutors said.
Two people died — taxi driver Octavian Codreanu at the scene and passenger Moyra Whelan later in hospital — while six others were injured, including three seriously.
Snapchat videos showed Mitchell filming herself speeding and driving dangerously, and authorities said she was also using the car for work despite lacking business insurance coverage.
The increase followed a referral by Attorney General Ellie Reeves under the Unduly Lenient Sentence scheme; Mitchell remains banned from driving for eight years and four months and must pass an extended test to regain her license.