Family of boy, 15, killed by speeding driver as he walked to school brand ten-year jail term ‘a joke’

Furious family members of a 15-year-old boy who died today after being hit by a driver speeding more than twice the limit before losing control described his 10-year prison sentence as a ‘joke’.

Stephen Mahebadevan, 26, was traveling at 67 mph on a 30 mph curve when his Suzuki Swift swerved onto a footpath and hit Freddie Coleman, who was walking to school with a friend.

The student was thrown into the path of an oncoming minibus, whose driver did not have time to avoid hitting him.

Freddie died at the scene of the crash in Stock, Essex, while his friend, who cannot be named for legal reasons, suffered life-changing injuries.

Mahebadevan appeared at Chelmsford Crown Court today for sentencing after admitting causing death by dangerous driving and causing serious injury by dangerous driving.

Sentencing him, Judge Mary Loram KC said the cowardly defendant made an insurance claim three days after the crash, claiming a bus had pulled into the path of his car and caused the accident.

Noting that her claim was ‘only abandoned when it turned out that your account was not true’, the woman said: ‘This catastrophic event turned the lives of many people upside down.’

Describing the crash as ‘every parent’s worst nightmare’, the judge added: ‘This was not a mistake or an external problem; it was the way you chose to drive. There can be no other conclusion to be drawn.

‘Your speed was, by any analysis, significantly over the limit and highly inappropriate for the conditions, particularly the oncoming bend which restricted visibility, the narrow road and pavement and the nature of the area.

‘Where there are bus stops, there will be people going there using those narrow sidewalks.’

One of Freddie’s family members reacted angrily to this sentence, with one of them shouting: ‘This is a joke.’

Under the Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Act 2022, the maximum penalty for causing death by dangerous driving is life imprisonment. The sentencing range for the most serious offenses is eight to 18 years.

Before the amendment, the longest prison sentence for this crime was 14 years.

Freddie and his friend were walking from their home to Mayflower High School in Billericay when the tragedy occurred at 8.20am on November 3, 2023.

A witness who saw Mahebadevan driving recklessly on his way to work described how he was ‘flying down the road like a missile’.

He rounded a left bend before turning onto the youth road, sending Freddie flying into the path of the van.

Cowardly 26-year-old Mahebadevan filed an insurance claim three days after the accident, in which he claimed a bus veered into the path of his car and caused the accident.

Freddie Coleman on a day out with his family

During sentencing, Judge Loram said delivery driver Mark Turner ‘did everything to help’ and ‘should not be forgotten as someone who was affected by this’.

Emergency services rushed to the scene but were unable to save Freddie.

His friend suffered a traumatic brain injury and needs a kidney removed.

Speaking in a victim impact statement while wearing a Manchester United Scarf with Freddie’s name on it, his mother Jo said the crash was the ‘darkest day of my life’.

Describing her harrowing visit to the morgue, she added: ‘I wanted to hug him to keep him warm but I knew he was gone. ‘That was the last time I saw my son.’

Ms Coleman said: ‘We are a close family, we all live close to each other. We all miss Freddie very much; My sister, her partner and Freddie’s godmother, Jo, cry every day.

‘The impact of what happened; I don’t think any of us can handle this.’

The other victim, whose impact statement was read out in court by his father, told Mahebadevan, of Chelmsford: ‘The visible scars you have left on my body are a constant reminder of what you have done. ‘This is something I can’t escape’.

The defendant’s Suzuki Swift was traveling at 67mph in a 30mph zone when it hit the pavement as Freddie and his friend walked to school.

Tragic schoolboy described as ‘our kind, happy, funny boy’ by heartbroken parents

Ayanna Nelson, representing Mahebadevan, told the court her client felt and showed remorse for the deaths and “couldn’t explain why he was driving so fast”.

He added: ‘His sentence will not end when he is released.

‘He will have to live knowing that he took one life and brutally changed another.’

Detective Sergeant Sam Nason, who is leading the investigation, said: ‘My entire team’s thoughts are with the family and friends of the two victims in this case.

‘This is an extremely tragic event that has affected so many people and changed so many lives forever.

‘This has been a long process, taking years rather than months. It is important to acknowledge the patience, dignity and restraint shown by the families in the long wait for justice and answers.’

He added: ‘No prison sentence will bring Freddie back but my hope is that it can help deliver some degree of justice and answers for his family.’

Freddie’s parents previously said in a statement: ‘Our beautiful boy Freddie, our much-loved son, grandson, brother, nephew and uncle, sadly passed away at 8.30am on 3 November.

‘Everyone who knew him loved him very much. ‘Our kind, happy, funny child.’

Mahebadevan was also given a concurrent four-year prison sentence for the serious injury he inflicted on the other boy and must serve a 13-year driving ban.