A MUM has revealed how she looked her daughter's killer in the eye after accidentally driving past the horror scene.
Angela Burke was coming back from work but had no idea her 14-year-old daughter was lying dead behind the police tape.
Courtney Ellis died instantly after being mown down by boy racer Brandon Turton on September 19, 2020.
He had been racing with another car in convoy through St Helens, Merseyside, at speeds of "up to 93mph".
Angela later received a call telling her Courtney had been struck in the horror – she raced to the hospital, but her daughter succumbed to her injuries.
Speaking to Turton at Liverpool Crown Court as he was caged for six years and nine months on Wednesday, broken Angela said: "It was clear that something serious had happened, with police everywhere.
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"I recall feeling sad for the people involved. Little did I know my own child was lying in the road."
Looking at Turton, 21, the now mum-of-three said she "collapsed in shock" after seeing the lifeless and broken body of her child.
She added: "The night that you killed my 14-year-old daughter was the most horrific experience I have ever had to go through.
"I thought I was in a living nightmare and I pleaded with the doctors to tell me it wasn't true."
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Turton had been "showing off or driving in anger" after unsuccessful attempts to woo a female passenger, when he struck Courtney, Manchester Evening News reported.
He had been cruising around the area "just for something to do" before meeting up with a silver Vauxhall Astra driven by Oliver McIntosh in the car park of Tesco in Haydock.
In the 15-minutes before the crash, the two cars "set off in convoy" to race one another: performing horror overtakes of busses, driving on the wrong side of the road and racing over traffic islands.
The pair returned to the supermarket before driving off again six minutes later with passengers in the car.
'Slow the f*** down'
In the moments before Turton killed Courtney, those in the car were being "thrown around" and repeatedly pleading with him to "slow the f*** down" – he didn't.
Courtney was at nearby Ship Inn pub having spent a day with older sister Morgan and mates.
The court heard how the aspiring midwife had "had a falling out with a boy and was upset", and the group sat talking out the front of the pub.
Morgan suggested they head home but as they did, Courtney ran across Blackbrook Road.
Shortly before 9.45pm – Turton's Renault Megane ploughed into Courtney who had run in front of the speeding car, throwing her into the air before landing in the carriageway.
No sentence I can impose on you will reconcile the family of the deceased victim to their loss, nor will it cure their anguish
Turton had "swerved at the last second" but was travelling at speeds of at least 73mph, and possibly up to 93mph, on the 30mph road.
One of his passengers thought the vehicle was going to flip over as it hurtled onwards towards a dog walker before coming to a stop.
Courtney's big sister Morgan, now 18, witnessed her sister mown down first-hand, telling the court she screamed: "Courtney please don't die, please don't leave me!"
The tragic teen was described as having "little chance to assess her own safety in crossing".
The friend who was present said they "did not see or hear the approach of the defendant's vehicle" beforehand.
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Turton admitted causing death by dangerous driving and was jailed for six years and nine months on Wednesday.
Sentencing, Judge David Potter said: "No sentence I can impose on you will reconcile the family of the deceased victim to their loss, nor will it cure their anguish."
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