Mom left tetraplegic after teen crashed while filming himself driving using no hands
Niamh Shackleton
Featured Image Credit: Norfolk Police
A woman has suffered life-changing injuries after a teenage driver crashed into her.
In January 2023, George Taylor collided into Catherine Davies' Skoda Fabia in Norfolk, UK.
Taylor, who was driving a Volkswagon Golf, had only passed his driving test a few months prior to the near-fatal crash and had been using his phone throughout the journey before hitting Davies' car.
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The teen's said to have been recording himself overtaking other vehicles and driving with his knees instead of having both hands on the wheel.
According to Norfolk Police, Taylor recorded five videos in the space of an hour.
Davies, who was in her 40s at the time, and was described as being a 'fit and healthy' person, now needs life-long care.
The extent of her injuries has left Davies paralyzed from the neck down and unable eat or speak.
In a victim impact statement, Davies' father said: "She will never breathe for herself again. She will never taste food again. She will never be able to hug her son again."
Her family also described the 51-year-old as a 'gregarious person with a great sense of humour and so full of life'.
Davies' father went on: "I'll never forget that day when we were told she had been in an accident and then arriving at the hospital to be facing the reality that we may lose her.
"To hear that my only daughter may not survive was heartbreaking and, as her dad, all I wanted to do was make everything better for her."
Taylor appeared in court yesterday (November 26) to face the legal consequences of his actions.
The 19-year-old has been sentenced to two years and two months behind bars, LBC reports.
Taylor has also been banned from driving for 40 months and told he must take an extended driving test before he can get behind the wheel again.
While in court, Taylor apologized to Davies and her loved ones.
"I would like to apologize," he said.
"I know it does not bear much in the situation and I know it won't change anything.
"I wish I had never got a licence and had never got a car. I cannot say anything more than sorry."
Sergeant Callum Walchester described the tragic ordeal as 'avoidable'.
"This is a deeply tragic case which, like many collisions, could have been entirely avoidable," he said.
"George Taylor didn’t set out on the morning of 18 January intending to cause unimaginable injuries to another person but sadly that is exactly what he did.
"Catherine was a fit and healthy mother who now, as a result of Taylor’s actions, will live out the rest of her life paralysed and requiring lifelong care and support."
Walchester concluded that Davies is 'paying the price' for the teenager's actions, and will do for the rest of her life.