Luca Skivington's father Glenn slams 'reckless and idiotic' driving of 17-year-old spared jail after Beaconsfield crash

Will Sherriff's show-off driving in the car bought for him by his parents after he passed his test, also led to the death of the another 17-year-old boy, Ollie Masters, who hanged himself after seeing his best friend Luca Skivington killed in the high speed crash.

On Friday night Luca's heartbroken father broke his silence about the pain and torment of seeing his son's killer walk free after being convicted of causing the crash which led to the deaths of the two football-mad boys.

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Lawyer Glenn Skivington told how Sherriff was promoting his career as a DJ, posting music videos and enjoying a foreign holiday while the families of his victims remained wracked with grief.

Mr Skivington said: “He should have received a prison sentence. It was idiotic, reckless driving of a powerful vehicle at excessive speed, entirely inappropriate for the road conditions, which resulted in our son being killed and the death of another boy in the fall-out from it.

Will Sherriff gives the thumbs up to a photographer

“Somewhere within the justice system someone has to step up and be brave enough to say that these are really serious cases and deserve the most serious sentencing. At the moment it just doesn’t seem as though anyone has the sense of duty or backbone to make that happen.

“The shock waves from something like this are massive. It destroys lives.”

Teenager Will Sherriff, who goes by the DJ name ReEfMuSic, had been driving for less than six weeks when he switched the powerful car his wealthy parents had bought him as a present into "sports mode" on August 6 last year.

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Although he had three young passengers with him, 17-year-old Sherriff bombed down a rutted wet, narrow country lane at around 60mph in the dark and failed to negotiate a tight left-hand bend.

The black BMW car, in which Sherriff did not attempt to brake or turn, was sent flying into the air and hit a live electricity substation on the edge of a motorway embankment, leaving talented footballer Luca, the front seat passenger, with a fatal head injury.

His parents' anguish was compounded when one of the backseat passengers in the crash, young Ollie Masters, also 17, took his own life on March 15 this year after suffering with PTSD and stating he was haunted by the memory of Luca's horrific injuries.

Luca Skivington

Despite being held ultimately responsible for both deaths, William Sherriff, now 18, was allowed to walk free from a court with 80 hours of unpaid community work, 24 days of rehabilitation and a two-year driving ban, after being given a six-month suspended sentence.

Mr Skivington, 58, said: “There aren’t enough words to tell you what Luca means to us, and if there are we don’t have them. The shockwaves from his death have had a massively damaging impact on many people, many lives.

"This tragedy has absolutely changed the way we all now approach everyday risks and trust other people and circumstances, and that will no doubt trickle down through future generations of our family.

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"Lockdown was a massive relief for us because it meant Luca’s brother Marco had to stay here with us. We want Luca’s younger brother to lead a normal life but it doesn’t stop you having cold sweats and panic attacks every time he goes out of the gate. Sherriff’s reckless, idiotic criminal actions have had a destructive effect on every part of our lives.”

Will Sherriff and his parents, David and Sarah, both 51, from Flackwell Heath, did not respond to a request for comment on Mr Skivington's revelation. However the judge at Aylesbury Crown Court heard that Sherriff had written a letter of apology to the court.

The family had decided to speak out after seeing a photograph of curly-haired Sherriff leaving court, where he was seen giving a thumbs up to a press photographer before climbing into another black BMW.

The Skivingtons were calling for a change in the laws around driving for youths, suggesting a "graduated licence" system for teenagers, similar to one already in operation in Australia.

Under a graduated licence scheme, teenagers who have just passed their test are not allowed to have a high-powered car for several years, are not allowed to carry teenage passengers unless there is also an adult in the car and are banned from driving at night from 11pm to 5am.

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Mr Skivington added: “Other countries can restrict the ability of young men at 17 to jump into fast cars, load up with passengers and drive as quickly as they want. Why not impose sensible similar protections here?

“If we are not going to step in and do something positive up front to try to prevent these tragedies happening, we damn well have to do it with tough sentences in the courts. If we don’t do either then we are abdicating responsibility and letting our children down.

“Otherwise what message does that send to other 17-year-olds or to their parents who are tempted to put a brand-new, relatively-powerful car in the hands of their son or daughter? There is no effective deterrent there at all.”

On the anniversary of Luca’s death 100 friends gathered at the site in his memory and released 50 white balloons – each with a personal message for him and well-wishers had raised more than £10,000 for Luca’s favourite charity, Centrepoint. Glenn Skivington had created a fundraising page for Luca here: https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/luca-skivington