A driver was jailed for nine years after killing his friend in a 147mph police chase smash and then fleeing the scene.
Connor Money, 23, sped away from police at ‘eye-watering speeds’ while performing ‘jaw dropping manoeuvres’ – eventually ploughing into the back of a lorry on a motorway, a court heard.
His ‘best friend’ Jordan Amos, 23, was crushed in the passenger seat of the grey BMW 5 Series estate on the M2 motorway near Medway, Kent.
But instead of helping his friend, Money ran from the scene into nearby woodland.
Connor Money (left), 23, from Dartford, was jailed for nine years yesterday after the collision at around 1.30pm on October 8 last year. His friend Jordan Amos (right), 23, died at the scene
At around 1.30pm on October 8 last year, two Kent Police officers travelling in an unmarked patrol vehicle became suspicious of Money’s driving while he was travelling on the coast-bound M2.
The constables overtook his vehicle and displayed a message on their rear window which instructed him to follow them.
Money appeared to be following their instructions but, when the officers left junction two to find a safe location to stop, he chose to suddenly disobey the request and sped down the motorway.
The officers were committed to the exit, making it unsafe for them to change direction, and within a five-minute window numerous people called Kent Police to report concerns about Money’s manner of driving.
Dash cam footage captured Money travelling up to 147mph while dangerously undertaking and weaving on and off the hard shoulder, showing a ‘flagrant disregard for the rules of the road’.
As Money passed junction four, near Rainham, Kent, driving at around 130mph, he attempted to undertake a lorry that had moved from lane one to lane two to make way for another HGV that was joining from the slip road.
Money failed to see the joining vehicle and collided with the back of it.
But instead of staying at the scene to check on this friend in the passenger seat, Money chose to flee the scene. Mr Amos was pronounced dead at the scene.
Officers from the Metropolitan Police, who had been on a training exercise in Kent, came across the collision shortly after it happened and provided first aid to the victim at the scene. They also went on to find Money nearby where he was arrested.
Kent Police’s Serious Collision Investigation Unit investigated the case and charged Money, from Dartford, Kent with causing death by dangerous driving while he was still in custody. He was due to stand trial but admitted the offence.
Money’s car (pictured) sped into the HGV while attempting to undertake a different vehicle on the M2. The 23-year-old admitted to causing death by dangerous driving
Judge Sally-Ann Hales QC sentenced him as he wept on video link at Woolwich Crown Court on Wednesday, to nine years in prison.
He was also given a consecutive 10-month sentence for a separate driving offence in January 2019 and disqualified from driving for 14 years and five months.
She said: ‘No sentence could possibly compensate for the grief and loss that Mr Amos’ family have suffered and will continue to suffer for the rest of their lives.’
Prosecuting Madeleine Wolfe said Money had picked Jordan up from his home in Dartford, Kent to go on a seaside trip to Whitstable.
In victim impact statements the driver of the lorry Money smashed into has been forced to quit his job and visit a counsellor to deal with PTSD, depression and flashbacks of the incident which ‘lead me to have thoughts of ending my life’.
He had driven HGVs for 31 years and spent six years in the military ‘witnessing things that many members of the public would never imagine’ but has been ‘deeply affected’ by the crash.
Mr Amos’ partner Summer Davies, who met him in 2015, said: ‘Jordan would do anything for anybody – even if he didn’t want to.’
Mr Amos’ mother Nicola Holmes, who has four sons, said: ‘Now there is a piece missing of that unit. The boys have also become quiet now and are trying to carry on but it’s hard.
‘Your children shouldn’t die before you. He will always be my baby just like all of my boys no matter how big they get.’
His father, Richie Amos, added: ‘He wasn’t just my son. He was my right hand man, my best friend and my hero.
‘Connor got out the car and ran away, leaving my hurt boy there by himself. Since he crashed the car, it’s just been lies. You were meant to be his best mate.’
Defending, Sunil Metha said ‘the loss of his close friend’ was a mitigating factor and that his ‘fight or flight kicked in causing him to panic’ before evading the scene.
Sergeant Chris Wade, Kent Police’s lead investigating officer for the case, said after the sentencing: ‘Money’s decision to ignore two police officers and instead drive away at grossly excessive speeds, endangering countless other motorists, is beyond comprehension.
‘This is without doubt the worst driving I have encountered in 25 years of policing. A young man, with his whole life ahead of him, died as a consequence of Money’s reckless decision and instead of staying at the scene his first thought was to run away and evade capture.
‘His behaviour was disgraceful and his poor nature is further demonstrated by the six months he spent denying his offending before pleading guilty just before he was due to stand trial in March.
‘I know this case has affected a great many people and, while Money’s imprisonment does not undo the harm caused, I sincerely hope they can find a degree of closure in this sentencing.’