The senior investigating officer into the car crash that killed Brad Campbell last August has spoken of a 'needless, wholly avoidable' tragedy.
Brandon Gowland was 17 when he crashed a high performance car on the Foxdale to Douglas road. Today he was sentenced to three years and seven months imprisonment for causing death by dangerous driving and 12 months imprisonment for causing serious injury by dangerous driving, to run concurrently.
The Onchan teenager, now 18, has been banned from driving for seven years and ordered to retake his driving test at the end of the disqualification.
After the sentencing, Inspector Derek Flint said: 'There are no winners in a case like this. In twenty five years of policing, this was the worst road traffic collision scene I have ever dealt with. I know that from the first witness that attended, to the last member of the emergency services, we were all affected that night.
'All of this pales into insignificance against the backdrop of the devastation that this event has caused in the lives of the families of the young men involved. Along with the Family Liaison Officer, I have watched the family of Brad Campbell have to deal with the unthinkable. To bury a child, and then have to begin to rebuild some semblance of a normal life is something that nobody should ever have to endure, especially when as a result of a needless, wholly avoidable road traffic collision.'
In the crash that killed Brad Campbell, another male passenger sustained life changing injuries and a third passenger was also hospitalised.
Inspector Flint said: 'Brandon Gowland is a young man, who, at just seventeen years of age, drove a high performance car in such a dangerous manner that he lost control, caused the death of one passenger, seriously injured another, and significantly injured the third. In doing so, he has had to face the consequences of his actions, and changed his own life, and that of his family too. That situation will improve with time. Others are not as fortunate.
He said the crash was a 'raw and vivid' illustration of the risks of irresponsible road use, adding: 'No sentence, nor time, will bring young Brad Campbell back to his family. Perhaps his legacy can be that his tragedy will serve as a stark reminder to others of the immense responsibility expected when using the road, and the grave consequences when that responsibility is disregarded.'
