Reckless driver recorded inhaling laughing gas before tragic crash that killed girl, 15

The moment a reckless driver inhaled laughing gas at the wheel before his vehicle crashed and killed a 15-year-old girl has been captured on camera. 

Cameron Hughes, 24, was filmed waving his hand in the air to music on his phone while he inhaled nitrous oxide– also known as laughing gas – from a yellow balloon.

His actions were caught on the camera phone of Bonney-Rae Barrow, 15, who was travelling as a passenger in his van.

Hughes, a courier from Blackley and family friend, had offered Bonney a lift in his Mercedes Sprinter van to meet her relatives for a meal at a restaurant in Lancashire.

In the footage, Hughes can also be seen taking both hands off the steering wheel while driving and using his mobile phone. All the while he pays little attention to the road.

As reported in the Manchester Evening News, Hughes failed to negotiate a left-hand bend on the slip road of the A56 at Huncoat. 

His van hit the barrier and plunged five metres into the ravine below. The devastating moment of impact was also caught on camera.

The journey from Manchester to Great Harwood ended in tragedy as Bonney was thrown towards the windscreen in the crash and she suffered serious injuries.

Bonney died later in hospital. Hughes was thrown from the vehicle and suffered minor injuries. Neither Hughes nor Bonney wore a seatbelt.

Police say there were numerous close calls with other vehicles during the 35-minute drive.

Hughes drove into the hard shoulder at times and drifted between lanes. He also bounced off a kerb along the edge of a carriageway while travelling at 60mph.

Preston Crown Court heard how Hughes was driving the van at an ‘inappropriate speed’ as he approached the junction – on the northbound exit slip road of the A56 Accrington Bypass, at the junction of the A679 Burnley Road – at 7.20pm on July 7th.

Hughes, of Haddington Drive, Blackley, admitted causing death by dangerous driving and was sentenced to seven-and-a-half years in prison on Monday, October 30th. He was also banned from driving for eight years. 

Judge Heather Lloyd said to Hughes: “This was quite a shocking piece of driving and a young 15-year-old life has been needlessly wiped out.

“It is a miracle that no other person was wiped out, including yourself. This was a tragedy waiting to happen.” 

Following the sentencing, Sergeant Laura Kendall, from Lancashire Police’s Serious Collision Investigation Unit, said: “Bonney was a much-loved bubbly teenager whose life has been cruelly taken away.

“My heart goes out to her family and friends who have been so affected by her tragic loss.

“Cameron Hughes is entirely responsible for what happened that day in July. He chose to take nitrous oxide while driving, to use his mobile phone at the wheel and to drive dangerously.

“These avoidable actions led to the devastating collision that caused the death of Bonney.”