A DRIVER who killed a 15-year-old schoolboy by smashing into him while going at a “ridiculous” speed has been jailed for a decade.
Stephen Mahebadevan, 26, was speeding at more than double the legal limit when he fatally struck teen Freddie Coleman as he was walking to school.
Mahebadevan, from Chelmsford lost control of his car as he was driving at 67mph in a 30mph zone in the village of Stock, Essex.
Chelmsford Crown Court heard that Mahebadevan lost control of his Suzuki Swift as he tried to make a left-hand bend.
He failed to negotiate the turn due to the speed he was travelling at and instead mounted a footpath running alongside the road where he hit two boys.
Freddie was thrown across the road directly into the path of an oncoming van, whose driver had no time to react to avoid him.
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A second young man was also injured and rushed to hospital just after 8.20am on November 3, 2023.
Mahebadevan pleaded guilty to causing the death of Freddie and injuring the second teen by dangerous driving.
He was jailed for 10 years in total and disqualified from driving for 13 years and eight months at Chelmsford Crown Court.
He will serve a four-year sentence concurrently for causing serious injury to the second boy.
In her sentencing remarks, Judge Loram KC said: “What you did could well be said to be a deliberate decision to ignore the rules of the road.
“I have watched the various clips and note your speed some 80 metres before the brow of the hill.
“I can only conclude that you were speeding because you chose to and you wanted to.”
A witness said Mahebadevan was “flying” and “travelling like a missile” down the road before the crash.
Judge Loram said about the comments: “He consciously noted what a ridiculous speed you were travelling at.
“This was no lapse or external problem – this was how you chose to drive.
“There can be no other conclusion to draw.”
Mahebadevan had initially tried to claim his erratic driving was due to a bus swerving in front of him at the last minute.
Judge Loram noted how he had even made an insurance claim three days after the incident blaming the bus.
She added: “That was not an attempt to explain yourself – you were putting forward that version of events as the truth.
“But it was not.
“Had you assisted the police and told the truth, you might have avoided the delay that you say has impacted on you but instead, you carried on with your life.”
Freddie’s mother Joanna Coleman said the day her son was killed was “the worst day of my life”.
She said in a victim impact statement: “I scream and cry for Fred. I can’t remember when I wake up in the morning.
“But then again, when I wake up now, it feels like I haven’t been asleep at all anyway,” she said.
Joanna says she rarely leaves the house now unless it is necessary despite previously being a “social butterfly”.
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