“If you drive like this again and again, you have to acknowledge that it could happen to you – you are not invincible.”

WATCH: www.youtube.com/watch?v=sYutxjb8pEQ 

“If you drive like this again and again, you have to acknowledge that it could happen to you – you are not invincible. The pain that me and my family have been through should be enough to motivate someone to stop.”

It was October 21, 2023, when Amy Devanney’s life changed forever.

She and her big sister, Abbie, had spent the evening doing their hair and taking pictures – normal things that sisters do.

“I have really curly hair and she is the only person that can do my hair. We spent about two hours straight together, doing our hair and taking pictures. We hadn’t done that in a long time,” she said.

Little did Amy know, that would be the last time she would ever see her sister.

It was Abbie’s 18^th birthday and she was heading up to Newcastle with her friends to celebrate.

Hours later, police knocked on the door of her family home in Consett.

Surrounded by the balloons and cards celebrating Abbie’s life, officers delivered the news to her parents and sister that Abbie had died in a collision and wasn’t coming home.

Now, in a bid to prevent further tragedies, Amy has worked with Durham Constabulary to produce a film encouraging new drivers to drive safely.

The film features moving interviews with Amy, the police officers who attended the scene, and those who investigated the collision.

Abbie was one of four passengers in a Ford Fiesta being driven by Charlie Whittaker, who lost control of the car when he hit a large puddle on a country lane near Leadgate.

She was killed instantly when the car, which was travelling at more than 70mph, smashed into a tree and rolled, ending up on its roof. Three other teenage passengers were also left with life-long injuries.  

Charlie was jailed in April last year for five years and four months after admitting causing death and serious injury by dangerous driving.

He had passed his driving test six months earlier and analysis of his phone found multiple videos of him speeding, overtaking vehicles, and narrowly avoiding head-on collisions in the months before the incident.

Amy said: “I want to be honest, if this hadn’t have happened to my sister, I think I would have ended up in situations where I was getting into those cars. Especially at my age, everyone knows someone who drives like that.

“I have never known a life without Abbie. A lot of people have told me how strong I am, but really what choice do you have? You can’t do anything about it – nobody can take away what happened, and nobody can bring her back.”

Chief Inspector Sarah Hindmarsh, head of Durham Constabulary’s Roads and Armed Policing Unit, said: “Every single day people die on the roads in preventable tragedies. People think it won’t happen to them, until it does.

“Charlie’s actions that evening were not a one-off - he had shown a repeated pattern of behaviour in the months leading up to the collision of driving at excess speed, increased risk taking and showing little regard for other road users.

“We hope this film encourages new drivers to think about their driving and consider the consequences of their actions.

“We know Charlie didn’t go out that evening with the intention of killing anyone, but if you take risks, drive dangerously, and speed excessively, then this could happen to you.”

Police and Crime Commissioner Joy Allen said: “Abbie’s death is a heartbreaking reminder of the devastating consequences that can follow when inexperienced drivers take risks behind the wheel. No family should have to endure the pain that Amy and her loved ones have suffered.

“Young drivers are disproportionately represented in serious and fatal collisions, which is why I continue to support the introduction of a Graduated Driving Licence scheme. Such a scheme would help new drivers gain experience gradually by placing restrictions on some of the highest-risk situations during the first months after passing their test.

“This is not about preventing young people from driving, but about giving them the best possible chance to stay safe while they build confidence and experience on the roads. If even one life can be saved and one family spared the heartbreak experienced by Abbie’s family, then Graduated Driving Licences would be worth it.”