Driver who inhaled nitrous oxide jailed for 10 years 9 months for killing cyclist Harry Webb

Mixed · 2Tiffany Treanor-Johnson, 27, was sentenced on Friday at Snaresbrook Crown Court to 10 years and nine months in prison and disqualified from driving for 10 years for causing the death of cyclist Harry Webb by dangerous driving. 1 2 Mixed · 2The court heard she was driving an Audi at 53mph in a 20mph zone in Hackney, east London, on the evening of 10 September 2023 when she hit Mr Webb, a 27-year-old music student, at the junction of Kenworthy Road and Hassett Road. 1 2 Mixed · 2She had been inhaling nitrous oxide, a class C drug, before the crash, and police found fragments of balloons used to inhale laughing gas in her car. 1 2

Centre · 1After the collision she mounted the pavement and hit a red Citroen, and the court heard she drove off, leaving Mr Webb seriously injured; he died in hospital days later. 1 Mixed · 2The Citroen's driver, Brenton Henry, told the court he made eye contact with her and pulled forward to stop her, then took her car keys to prevent her leaving; one of two girls in the back of the Audi took a bag and left the scene. 1 2 Mixed · 2Mr Webb, a drummer and student at the London College of Contemporary Music, had moved into new accommodation that day and was on the phone to his father when he was struck; the call went silent, and a member of the public later picked up his phone and told his father what had happened. 1 2

Centre · 1He has since been awarded his master's degree posthumously. 1 Mixed · 2Treanor-Johnson initially denied causing death by dangerous driving and changed her plea to guilty in April this year. 1 2 Centre · 1In mitigation, Stephanie Panchkowry said her client was in a state of shock and had always maintained she was not deliberately evading responsibility. 1

Mixed · 2Judge Rosa Dean told her: "You are solely to blame for the collision" and that she was sure Treanor-Johnson was probably impaired due to taking balloons. 1 2 Centre · 1Mr Webb's mother, Pat, said in a victim impact statement that her life ended on the day of the crash, and later told the Press Association she was glad of the sentence and had expected less. 1 Mixed · 2Outside court, his father Mike said nobody should be killed cycling in a 20mph area of London, called for lifetime driving bans for drivers who seriously injure or kill, and said road crime needs to be taken far more seriously, with more public information and enforcement. 1 2

Centre · 1A ghost bike, a painted bicycle memorial, and a picture of Mr Webb were placed at the junction where he was hit. 1