Driver who went on skiing holiday months after killing teens given 14 months' youth detention

A driver who went on a skiing holiday months after killing two teenage passengers has been sentenced to 14 months' youth detention.

Madeleine Lonsdale, 18, had been racing another car at 100mph before she struck a tree in Marston, Lincolnshire, on 20 June last year, killing passengers Harrison Carter, 18, and George Stephenson, 17.

She partied "repeatedly" in the months after their deaths, frequently uploaded to TikTok and her first court appearance was delayed for two weeks because she went on a skiing trip.

On Friday she was sentenced to 14 months behind bars, having earlier pleaded guilty to two counts of causing the teenagers' deaths by careless or inconsiderate driving.

Mr Carter and Mr Stephenson had been passengers in Lonsdale's Kia Niro when the three headed to an Esso petrol station off the A1 in the early hours of the morning.

The car was travelling at 76mph when Lonsdale misjudged a bend in the 60mph road, killing both passengers almost immediately.

Lonsdale, who passed her driving test about 12 weeks before the crash, escaped with just a small injury to her wrist.

Moments earlier, Lonsdale had been racing another friend on the A1 - briefly travelling at 100mph, the court heard.

Sarah Carter said of her son, who wanted to pursue a career in law: "Harry was taken from us because Madeleine chose to speed.

"He will never be able to celebrate the amazing exam results that he achieved."

Ms Carter said it "adds insult to injury" that Lonsdale was "partying repeatedly" and "choreographing TikToks" while she planned her son's funeral.

Victoria Stephenson, George's mother, told the court: "We will never see him graduate or find a job after university.

"We didn't get to celebrate his 18th birthday with him. Instead, we had his funeral."

She said that when Lonsdale went on a skiing trip, delaying her first court appearance by two weeks, it "only added to the torment".

Read more from Sky News:
Boy dies after being struck by car
Epping council loses bid to stop housing asylum seekers at hotel

John McNally, defending Lonsdale, said: "She knows that there is nothing she can say, do, to take the pain away.

"She knows it will weigh heavily on her for the rest of her life.

"Her regret for what happened is deep and … her friends will remain, and are, in her thoughts."

Lonsdale was disqualified from driving for three years.

(c) Sky News 2026: Driver who went on skiing holiday months after killing teens given 14 months' youth detention