JAILED: Dangerous driver Daniel Obee from West Wickham who crashed car into tree in Grove Park and killed teenage passenger Daniel Matthews from Lee

Daniel Obee, 23, of Cherry Tree Walk, was sentenced for eight years for causing death by dangerous driving after the car he was driving crashed into a tree, killing 19-year-old Daniel Matthews, from Lee.

He was also given a nine-year disqualification from driving and requirement for an extended test to be passed, and four years imprisonment for two counts of causing serious injury by dangerous driving, with seven years disqualification from driving on each count. 

The sentences, which will run concurrently, were handed down on Thursday (November 18) at Croydon Crown Court.

He caused life changing injuries to passengers Paige Bryant and her brother Sam Bryant, who were 17 and 20 at the time.

Police were called out to reports of a black Vauxhall Corsa having crashed into a tree in Burnt Ash Lane, Grove Park, near the junction with Broadlands Road, at around 6.20pm on Sunday, June 7 last year.

Obee was driving over the speed limit, at about 41-50mph when he lost control of his car.

The car crossed the carriageway and spun around before hitting the tree.

Daniel Matthews, who was a passenger in the back seat, was taken to an east London hospital but died the next day (June 8).

Sam Byrant, who had been sitting in the front of the car, and Paige, who was sitting in the back, received life-changing injuries.

Obee was also taken to hospital for treatment.

Tributes left to Daniel Matthews at the scene of the crash.

Obee was not arrested at the time, but interviewed under caution as part of the investigation led by the Met's Serious Collision Investigation Unit based at Catford.

He was subsequently summonsed to attend Bromley Magistrates' Court on 15 March 2015, where he was charged with one  count of causing death by dangerous driving, and two couints of causing serious injury by dangerous driving.

While on bail before his trial, Obee was involved in another incident during which he crashed into four unoccupied parked cars and a wall in a road in Bromley on March 28 this year.

He was arrested and a urine sample taken hours afterwards found he was more than two times (242 milligrams) over the drink drive limit (107mg).

Obee was subsequently charged with one count of being in charge of a motor vehicle while being above the alcohol limit, to which he pleaded guilty on 14 June this year at Bromley Magistrates' Court.

He was disqualified from driving for twelve months, with an endorsement to be registered on his licence, and ordered to pay two fines of £85 and £80, as well as a victim's surcharge of £30.

19-year-old Daniel Matthews.

Debbie Plumb, mother of Daniel Matthews, told the court how she had to watch the life support machines being turned off.

She said:"In that moment, it felt like someone had took a shotgun, aimed it at my heart and blew it into a million pieces.

"Looking at my only son lying in the bed with hardly any marks on his face on his beautiful face made it feel so surreal.

"The struggle never gets easier. It is one more day since I last saw, heard and held my son.

"Our lives will never be the same again, there are no words strong enough to explain the pain we all feel daily."

Detective Sergeant Richard Budd, lead investigator, said: "We are pleased that the judge imposed a substantial jail sentence in this case following the strong evidence presented in court during the trial.

"We were allowed to submit a bad character application by the judge, and accounts heard as part of this from witnesses we called testified to the fact that Obee was a serious risk to public safety on the roads over a period of time.

"Although he did not have previous driving related convictions before the fatal crash on 7 June 2015, members of the public who had seen the way he drove were sufficiently concerned to contact police on repeated occasions.

"These included a cyclist who explained how Obee had 'cut him up' in a dangerous manner and a lady who rung police on several occasions after repeatedly seeing him racing up and down at excessive speeds near her home.

"The lives of two families have been shattered as a result of the terrible consequences of Obee's conduct.

"The Matthews family has lost a beloved member in Daniel, while the Bryant siblings are just entering adulthood but will have to cope with the physical and mental damage inflicted on them for the rest of their lives."