Man who turned BMW M3 into a 'lethal weapon' jailed for causing death of Leeds teenager

A dangerous driver, who turned his car into a “lethal weapon,” has been jailed for causing the death of an 18-year-old girl in Leeds.

Thomas Sherwood, of Tranquility Avenue, Cross Gates, was today sentenced to a total of 14 years imprisonment for causing the death of Georgia Bendelow by dangerous driving.

18-year-old Georgia, who was a passenger in a red Seat Mii that was struck by Sherwood’s white BMW M3, died from catastrophic head injuries in hospital two days later. Her mother, who had been driving the Seat, and Georgia’s boyfriend also suffered numerous serious injuries, but survived.

Police were called at 6.41pm on August 31, 2022 to a report of a collision on the eastbound carriageway of the A63 Selby Road, Swillington Common. The BMW was travelling at an average speed of 80mph on the 50mph-limit when the crash occurred, Leeds Crown Court was told.

Prosecutor Brian Russell detailed to the court how the Seat was “catapulted” 36 metres down the carriageway by the force of the collision.

Footage from CCTV cameras, showed the devastating moment the speeding BMW then smashed into the back of the Seat. It sent the smaller car into a spin and then through a gap in the central reservation and onto the opposite carriageway.

Mr Russell further told the court of Georgia's "harrowing final hours" and how her father, who lives nearby, had raced from his home to find his daughter, her boyfriend and his ex-wife crushed and trapped inside the mangled car.

“I’m now a broken man and left with a vision that will forever haunt me. Seeing my daughter Georgia in the most horrific state, just gasping for her last breathes whilst blood was running down her face,” her father, Daniel, told the court through a victim impact statement.

“All I could do was be there for her, to hold her and reassure her until help came. I can only hope that she could hear me. Seeing her in that tangled car is a sight that will never leave me.”

Georgia’s boyfriend Mark told the court the crash had taken away the “love of my life and our future together,” while her grandparents said the defendant’s driving had turned his car into a “lethal weapon."

The court heard that 36-year-old Sherwood had borrowed the high-performance car from a friend and thought he was insured, but wasn’t. He previously admitted causing the death by being uninsured. Sherwood had been at the Lord Gascoigne pub in Garforth that evening, and had drunk one-and-a-half pints of lager, before he borrowed the BMW to pick up another friend and then return to the pub for a birthday party.

One witness, who gave evidence during the trial, was in a car alongside Sherwood on the roundabout prior to exiting onto the A63 and described the BMW as “sounding like a jet engine” with a “whooshing sound” as it accelerated away from his own vehicle.

Another said Sherwood was weaving in and out of traffic, undertaking and overtaking before accelerating “hard” on the A63. When they later saw ambulances they told the court that they “knew what it would be for.”

In mitigation, defence counsel Alistair Reid told the court that his client wished to apologise for the “unimaginable pain and loss,” his actions had caused.

He added that Sherwood, who has no previous criminal convictions, accepted that the incident was entirely his fault and a “failure of judgement” on his part.

Passing sentence Judge Andrew Stubbs KC Stubbs, described the incident as a “persistent and prolonged course of dangerous driving,” which showed a disregard for others safety, and said “whether you were in a rush, showing off or testing the limits of the car we will never know.”

“No sentence will ever be enough and the court appreciates that this is just one more day in the rest of your grieving lives,” he told Georgia’s family.

Sherwood was also disqualified from driving for 14 years and four months and was told he must then pass an extended test.

In a statement released immediately following the sentence, Georgia’s parents said: “Whilst today’s judgement goes some way towards bringing justice for the killing of our daughter Georgia, there is nothing that can ever bring her back or make up for her loss from this world.

“Georgia was 18 years old and she had her whole life in front of her, which has sadly been taken from her far too soon. Since losing her, the lives of her family and friends have been changed forever. The silence she has left behind is overwhelming and every day is a reminder of the future that was taken from her and from all of those who loved her.

“We would like to thank Clare White and the whole team from West Yorkshire police along with counsel for the prosecution Brian Russell for all their efforts in supporting this case and for being by our sides during these difficult and deeply upsetting times.”