Madeleine Lonsdale, 18, has been jailed after a crash in Lincolnshire that claimed the lives of two teenage passengers.
Lonsdale had previously admitted two counts of causing death by careless driving following the single-vehicle collision on Toll Bar Road in Marston in June 2025.
The crash happened at around 1.40am on Friday 20 June 2025 as Lonsdale was travelling towards Marston from the A1. The Kia Niro 4 EV she was driving left the carriageway on a right-hand bend and collided with a tree.
Front seat passenger Harrison Carter, 18, and rear seat passenger George Stephenson, 17, both died at the scene from their injuries.
According to Lincolnshire Police, the group had earlier stopped at the Esso service station at the junction of the A1 and Toll Bar Road. After purchasing items they returned to the car and turned left onto Toll Bar Road towards Marston, where a short time later Lonsdale lost control and crashed.
At Lincoln Crown Court on Friday (13 March), Lonsdale, of Squires View, Long Bennington, was sentenced to 14 months’ imprisonment. She was also disqualified from driving for three years, five months and two weeks and must take an extended re-test before she can drive again.
The sentencing followed an investigation by Lincolnshire Police’s Serious Collision Investigation Unit and Forensic Collision Investigation Unit. Technical examinations of both the vehicle and the road found no defects that could have contributed to the crash.
Investigators established that although the road carried the national speed limit, the bend where the collision occurred required a lower speed to be negotiated safely.
Analysis of the vehicle’s airbag control module showed Lonsdale had been travelling at more than 75mph four seconds before the collision. Her vehicle left the carriageway onto the nearside verge before striking the tree.
Lonsdale had only held a full driving licence since 24 March 2025.
During a police interview she said she knew the road and believed she had been travelling at around 45mph. She was unable to explain why the car’s wheels had left the road. Officers concluded that her speed and lack of experience were responsible for the crash.
In a statement released after the sentencing, the families of George Stephenson and Harrison Carter said no sentence could bring their sons back.
They said Lonsdale “alone knows why she chose to drive at over 75mph in the dark on an unlit country lane” and said she would have to live with the knowledge that the boys had trusted her to get them safely to their destination.
The families also urged young drivers to take care on the roads and remember their responsibility for the safety of their passengers and others.
Detective Sergeant Adam Doona, from Lincolnshire Police’s Serious Collision Investigation Unit, said the crash was the result of Lonsdale’s speed and inexperience.
He said: “Tragically, as a result of her driving, friends who should have been celebrating starting the next stage of their lives are no longer with us.
“When someone obtains their full driving licence they need to remember that this is purely the start of their driving career. A lack of experience and failing to drive according to the rules of the road in this case will leave an indelible mark on all those involved for the rest of their lives.”
