Tragic teen, 19, dies of horror brain injury after girls’ night row over petrol money led to motorway smash
A TEEN died from a brain injury after a row about petrol on a girls’ night out led to a horror motorway smash, a court has heard.
Chloe Palmer, who was just 19, was in a stationary car on the hard shoulder of the M1 in Hertfordshire when driver Bradley Lane, 28, ploughed into the Renault, it’s alleged.
In the minutes before the crash, the driver of the Renault – Christalla Amphlett, now 22 – had allegedly pulled up and stopped on the side of the major road without her hazards or headlights on.
Amphlett, who was 19 at the time of the crash, stopped after a “trifling” row broke out over cash for petrol, it’s claimed.
She has gone on trial this week accused of causing her friend’s death by dangerous driving after the pals went clubbing on November 25 2017.
Barrister Wayne Cleaver, prosecuting at St Albans Crown Court, said the defendant’s car had been parked close to the inside lane – and she’d been seen with her door open and her legs outside the vehicle shortly before the crash.
Other motorists had beeped or swerved to avoid her car, jurors heard.
“These are unusual circumstances since, as you will have appreciated, at the time of the collision her car was not moving,” the prosecutor said.
“Nevertheless, the prosecution case is that she was driving; that driving was dangerous; and it was a contributory cause of the collision.”
Less than 20 minutes after Amphlett stopped on the hard shoulder, an Isuzu D-Max driven by Bradley Lane careered off the road and crashed into the rear of the Twingo, it was heard.
Mr Cleaver said it was likely Lane had fallen asleep at the wheel of his vehicle. The driver had earlier pleaded guilty to “various charges reflecting his responsibility”, it was heard.
Miss Palmer suffered fatal injuries in the crash, while another friend sitting next to her in the back seat, Maisie O’Flynn, was also seriously hurt.
The teens had been out to club Hide Out in Watford before the horrific crash.
Amphlett, of Edgware in north London, had agreed to be the designated driver for the night.
They left the venue at 3.30am. However, Amphlett and Miss O’Flynn then began a “trifling” argument about petrol money.
The prosecutor said Amphlett ‘began to get annoyed’ by her passengers – and eventually pulled up on the hard shoulder for several minutes.
Although she then carried on driving, the row continued, and Amphlett pulled over again.
The Renault was stationary on the side of the motorway for 17 minutes before the crash, the court heard.
Front-seat passenger Kezia Knight got out and sat on the metal safety barrier as the girls argued, Mr Cleaver said.
“Miss Amphlett remained in the driver’s seat, but opened the driver’s door onto the motorway and sat sideways facing the road with her feet outside of the vehicle,” said Mr Cleaver.
He said she started the engine a few times, but switched it off again. The car lights were not illuminated and he said no hazard warning lights were displayed.
“Miss Amphlett had created dangerous conditions by deliberately stopping the car where she did. Those conditions became increasingly dangerous the longer the car remained there,” he said.
After the crash, Miss Palmer, of Finchley in north London, was rushed to hospital.
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However, her injuries – which included a complex fracture to her pelvis and a serious brain injury – were so serious that she died days later.
Amphlett was interviewed in August 2018. She told police she thought it was safer to pull over because of the argument, adding: “I don’t believe my driving was careless or dangerous, or that my driving was a cause of the collision.”
The trial continues.