Broken-hearted mother of tragic teenage girl, 18, who died when thrown from a car confronts show off drug-driver in court as he is jailed

A heartbroken mother accused her daughters killer of callously living his best life in Ibiza after his drunken showing off ended in tragedy, as he is jailed for six years. 

18-year-old Leonie Grace Jones, who was not wearing a seatbelt, was thrown out through a faulty door before being crushed under Mark Colemans car as he made a high speed reverse turn in a disused car park in Crawley back in April 2022. 

Coleman, 23, who admitted to dangerous driving and death by careless driving while under the influence, was sentenced at Lewes Crown Court today. 

Jones mother Carmel Richards told the court on Thursday how she is tormented by the horrific circumstances of her daughters death.

In an emotional victim statement delivered from the witness box at Hove Trial Centre, Richards stared down Coleman as he listened from the dock, and confronted him for going on holiday to Spain just months after the tragic incident.

Leonie Grace Jones was killed in a car park in April 2022 after she was ejected from a vehicle when the driver made a sharp J-turn

Mark Coleman was sentenced to six years today over a fatal collision in Crawley back in 2022

How are you able to go to go to Ibiza two months after killing my daughter, living you best life?, she asked. 

You have shown no remorse of compassion. 

Shes gone and Im broken hearted.

I can never talk to her, hold her.

You took her from me, she added. 

I hope you have time to reflect and realise the consequences of your actions, Richards said before walking back to the public gallery with her eyes fixed on Coleman.

The victims devastated mother also shared that she often visits the car park where the accident happened to break down away from her other children. 

She added that the tragedy had forced her to cancel her wedding which was due to take place in May 2023. 

The court heard Coleman was aware that the front passenger door of his vehicle could not shut properly from the outside, but he drove off anyway without securing it. This resulted in Jones being thrown from the car as the the door opened while he did a J-turn. 

Following the incident, he dialled 999 and told an emergency operator that Jones had ended up underneath the car.

People just messing about drifting, whatever else and she was just in the way of the car. 

After four minutes on the call, Coleman said Leonie had stopped making noises and he could not find a pulse.

When emergency services arrived they found the teenager under the car, but despite the best efforts of paramedics, Jones was pronounced dead at the scene.

Coleman had also told police the young woman had gotten back into the car after they stopped at the car park and it slipped his mind to close the door properly, the court heard. 

Her injuries were consistent with being hit by a car.

The court also heard that he had been warned by police months before about his driving after he was seen spinning his vehicle in a Tesco car park.

His Honour Judge Jeremy Gold KC told Coleman he had robbed the family of a very special young woman.

He will serve at least half of his six year sentence in prison and is banned from driving for a total of seven years.