'I'll show you how I drive in Norfolk': What teenage driver said before accelerating into a bend and killing his friend in a crash

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Driver caused the accident a week before receiving an offer to join the police
Ryan Grace's lawyer described him as 'a broken young man'
Hussein Shamshudin's parents said he will be missed 'now and forever'

Published: 16:35 EST, 12 February 2013 | Updated: 16:35 EST, 12 February 2013

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A teenager driver, who killed a friend and left another brain-damaged, had been 'showing off' at the wheel of his mother's Citroen C4, a judge heard on Tuesday.

Ryan Grace was a week away from joining the police when he lost control on a bend in Buckinghamshire and slammed sideways into a tree before coming to rest in a field.

Grace was spared jail after admitting causing the death of his 17-year-old friend Hussein Shamshudin by driving carelessly.

Ryan Grace, 19, leaving court in Buckinghamshire, after he escaped a prison sentence by admitting that his careless driving cost the life of his friend

The 19-year-old had told his friend Rebecca Smyth, a passenger in the car: "I'll show you how I drive in Norfolk," before accelerating along a country lane.

Following the crash Hussein Shamshudin died, Rory Scarlett suffered severe head injuries and Elliot Cartwright was left with a badly wounded arm. Rebecca Smyth was not seriously injured.

Hussein's parents told the Buckinghamshire Free Press: 'He has left a big impact on those that loved him dearly. He will be sorely missed now and forever'

Rory was in a coma for a month and his mother has had to give up her marketing job at John Lewis to care for him.

It was the last day of the insurance cover Grace had on the car and just the week before he had been offered a place with the police, the court was told. That offer was rescinded following his conviction.

Judge Francis Sheridan said: 'It is to this man's shame that he did not plead guilty at the earliest opportunity.'

Barnaby Shaw, prosecuting, told Aylesbury Crown Court in Buckinghamshire that on February 17 last year Grace had been out with friends at the Feathers public house in Chalfont St Giles. He had not been drinking.

They decided to make their way to the Roundabout pub in High Wycombe and set off in two cars. The accident happened on a lane, near the village of Seer Green.

Hussein Shamshudin, who was killed by teenage driver Ryan Grace

Hussein Shamshudin, who was killed by careless driver Ryan Grace had been looking forward to a gap year and university

'After he had made this [Norfolk driving] comment he appeared to speed up and in the description of Rebecca Smyth seemed to be driving quite fast, accelerating quite a lot, swerving quite a lot around the corners,' said Mr Shaw.

'He was driving too fast for the road conditions and for his ability.'

At the pub earlier, Grace had told his friends he had been driving since he was eight, allegedly having learned while staying with his father in Norfolk.

Giuseppina Silvio, insisted that the defendant denied the comment while he drove but he accepted that his driving had caused the crash.

She described him as 'a broken young man'.

'There can be no greater punishment than Ryan Grace carrying the death of Hussein Shamshudin with him for the rest of his life,' she said.

Judge Sheridan told Grace: 'You were showing off.'

'You made the observation 'I'll show you how I drive in Norfolk', or sentiments along those lines. That's not a comment that was invented by a friend seeking revenge.'

'You dropped from the high standards required to pass a test and, if I may say so, from the high standards of your upbringing.'

Addressing the court, the judge attacked legal firms who told clients not to answer police questions.

He said: 'He knew he was driving too fast, he knew he had caused the death but he made no comment in interview.'

'He was not well served by anybody who was advising him in the police station to go 'no comment'. I make no bones about it.'

He read part of a letter from Rory Scarlett's parents, Felix and Laura, in which they said: 'Pleading not guilty was a foolish and wasteful exercise, doomed from the outset.'

'Any professionals responsible for advising him to plead not guilty should hang their heads in shame. They have probably made the situation worse for him.'

Turning to Grace, the judge said: 'A friend had lost his life and one was fighting for his and you made no comment.'

Despite his criticism, he told Grace he would not be going to prison, at least not immediately.

He passed a sentence of 20 weeks in custody, suspended for two years and ordered him to carry out 250 hours of unpaid work.

He also disqualified Grace, from High Wycombe in Buckinghamshire, from driving for two-and-a-half years and told him he would have to pass an extended driving test to regain his licence.

After sentence the Scarletts said they believed the sentence was fair.

Laura Scarlett said her son had made 'a miraculous recovery' after being severely brain damaged.