Overview
- York Crown Court sentenced Howarth, 21, to three years in prison and disqualified her from driving for six years and six months, with an extended test required to regain a licence.
- The crash on September 12, 2023, occurred near Brimham Rocks when her Peugeot 107 left a narrow lane at about 35mph and struck a drystone wall.
- Prosecutors said Howarth filmed front-seat passenger Alfie Lovett, 17, as he sat on the windowsill with his upper body outside the car.
- Eyewitnesses performed CPR for 15 minutes but Lovett died at the scene; his baby son had been born 12 weeks earlier.
- Judge Sean Morris warned drivers to stay off phones and said Howarth should have refused to continue until passengers behaved, noting her phone was used for the camera, maps and Spotify during the journey.