Devastated parents relive horrific night teen daughter was killed in …
The devastated mum and dad of a Swadlincote[1] teenager killed a fortnight before she turned 18 have bravely opened up about the moment police knocked on their door in the early hours. In October 2021, Phoebe Johnson was a passenger in a red Seat Leon that crash speeding in the South Derbyshire countryside.
Phoebe had earlier been house-sitting with her friends, including driver Melissa Keilloh, 19. Keilloh was over the drink-drive limit, but made the decision to get behind the wheel with Pheobe in the back seat.
Shocking footage of the crash was captured on Keilloh’s own dashcam, which was played in court where she pleaded guilty to causing death through careless driving while over the legal drink-drive limit. Keilloh was jailed for three years at Derby Crown Court in January this year.[2]
Now, in a heartbreaking interview with Derbyshire police, which can be viewed above, Phoebe's parents Nicola and Paul Johnson have shared their experience of losing their teenage daughter. Nicola recalled the moment the police came to their door and rushed the couple to the Queen's Medical Centre, in Nottingham.
She said: "It was about 1am, I heard the sirens. It was one of them where I thought, 'Did I hear that or was I dreaming?' And then I saw the blue lights coming through the curtains, followed by hammering on the door.
"I got out of bed and looked out the window, there were torches flashing up at us." Paul said: "I knew what was coming, they said to me 'Your daughter has been in an accident and she's really poorly,' and they got us there very quickly."
Phoebe Johnson was looking forward to half-term before she was killed in the crash in South Derbyshire (Image: Derbyshire Constabulary)
Nicola continued: "I knew she must've been poorly by how they'd come to get us, but I still didn't imagine that would be the outcome, but I suppose that's your body shutting down and protecting itself. I couldn't go into recovery, I had a panic attack, but the doctors and nurses were so helpful".
"I knew she was gone, her eyes were fixed so I just knew it. And then they asked if they should turn the machines off, and I said yes," Paul said.
Dashcam footage shown as part of the video above heard Keilloh telling her friends how drunk she felt. One voice could be heard saying: "Right, are you sure you can see?" Before Keilloh replied, "Yes, I can see".
Another voice could be heard chuckling whilst the car was on the driveway, asking: "Do you feel like you're going to put our lives in danger, or...?" Before Keilloh replied: "Yes, 100 per cent... I'm ****ed".
The group were then heard talking about going back inside, but Keilloh was adamant on completing their journey. Paul Johnson, Phoebe's father, labelled it as "like a moving train that you couldn't get off. But she (Phoebe) should've said 'I'm not getting in the car. The driver should have said 'I cannot drive', which she did, but they drove off anyway".
"She didn't have a seatbelt on, and she knew better than that." Just 15 minutes after setting off, Keilloh lost control of the car.
The car left the road, flipped and crashed violently in a field. In the minutes leading up to the disaster, dashcam footage shows the vehicle driving at high speeds and overtaking cars around blind corners, despite being a single carriageway in dark conditions.
This image is taken from the video posted by Derbyshire Constabulary, and shows a moment where Melissa Keilloh pulls off a dangerous overtake on a single carriageway at night. Just minutes later, the car crashed, killing Phoebe Johnson. (Image: Derbyshire Constabulary)
Phoebe's parents have shared their story to warn people of the dangers of drink driving and the severe risk to life that it causes every day around the UK. According to the UK Government, 1,695 people died as a result of a road traffic collision in 2022, that's over four people each day.
Nicola recalled the last time she saw her daughter and said: "If people could just listen... we're being completely sincere when we say that life can just be taken from you in a heartbeat. On the Friday, she came with me to the salon and she had an eyelash lift, got her brows done and then I dropped her off to house sit and I said I'd see her the next morning at 9.30am.
"It was half term and she was looking forward to a week off from college, she had parties coming up and she was absolutely buzzing. And that was it, the last time I saw her."
Paul and Nicola Johnson pictured speaking to Derbyshire police about their daughter's death (Image: Derbyshire Constabulary)
Derbyshire Constabulary[5] released the heartbreaking tribute to Phoebe on their YouTube and website, and telling the story is part of the Police's 'Just a Second' campaign, which urges drivers to take a second to think about getting behind the wheel after drinking. You can find more details about the campaign by clicking the link here[6].
NEWSLETTER: Sign up for free email alerts to StaffordshireLive straight to your inbox here[7]
What is happening where you live? Find out by adding your postcode or visit InYourArea[8]
References
- ^ Swadlincote (www.staffordshire-live.co.uk)
- ^ Derby Crown Court in January this year. (www.staffordshire-live.co.uk)
- ^ Young driver who killed her teen friend in South Derbyshire is jailed (www.staffordshire-live.co.uk)
- ^ Petition for traffic lights on Burton 'danger road' where teenage boy was killed (www.staffordshire-live.co.uk)
- ^ Derbyshire Constabulary (www.staffordshire-live.co.uk)
- ^ clicking the link here (www.derbyshire.police.uk)
- ^ Sign up for free email alerts to StaffordshireLive straight to your inbox here (data.reachplc.com)
- ^ visit InYourArea (www.inyourarea.co.uk)