Young driver who killed teen 'best friend' in Shropshire crash is jailed - victim's brave sister shares agony in tearful statement to court
A young driver who killed his teenage “best friend” when he crashed into a tree has been jailed for five years.
Prolific speeder Sean Cox, aged 21, crashed his Vauxhall Corsa SXI on the B4376 between Much Wenlock and Broseley, killing passenger Madison Jean Evans, known as Maddy, who was just 17. They were both trainee mechanics.
Maddy’s sister Imogen, 16, took to the witness stand and bravely fought back tears to tell Shrewsbury Crown Court how the tragedy had caused her “overwhelming pain that never leaves me”.
Harrowing victim impact statements were also read from Maddy’s mum Michelle, stepmum Claire Evans and stepdad Paul Johnson.
The crash happened on November 28, 2024 and Cox, who was 19 at the time, initially denied causing Madison’s death by dangerous driving.
He changed his plea to guilty shortly before he was due to face trial.
The court’s public gallery was packed with friends and family of Cox and Madison, as well as police officers.
The court was told that the crash happened at around 6pm, during the hours of darkness.
The road was wet and both of Cox’s front tyres were below the legal tread limit.
Cox veered off the 60mph road and smashed into a tree at around 73mph. Maddy was ejected from the car.
The emergency services rushed to the scene but, sadly, Maddy was pronounced dead at the scene.
A post-mortem showed she suffered traumatic injuries to her heart and back.
Cox told police in an interview that “it was just an unfortunate accident”.
However, he had a 'black box' in his car for insurance purposes, and records showed he had been speeding hundreds of times on roads across Shropshire including Buildwas Bank and Berwick Wharf to Uffington, near Shrewsbury, reaching speeds of up to 88mph.
