AN Oldbury teenager has been sentenced to five years detention in a young offenders institute after killing his friend in a moped crash.

Brett Everitt, aged 16, of Thompson Road, was found guilty at Wolverhampton Crown Court on Monday after being charged with causing death by dangerous driving, driving without a licence or insurance, and failing to provide a sample of blood for analysis.

He was also banned from driving for five-and-a-half years.

The crash took place on November 29 last year, when pillion passenger Kian Buckler, aged 15, was catapulted from a 125cc scooter being ridden by Everitt following a collision with a car in Lunt Road, Bilston.

Neither boy was wearing a helmet at the time of the crash and, despite it being pitch black, West Midlands Police collision investigators discovered Everitt was riding the bike without headlights.

Budding mechanic Kian was critically injured and died two days later in hospital.

Sergeant Paul Hughes, from the collision investigation unit, said: “This is a tragic case in which two young lives have been ruined. It once again highlights the risks involved with young people riding motorcycles in a dangerous and reckless manner.

“Everitt chose to do this without any regard for himself or other road users and ultimately caused the death of his friend Kian Buckler.

“He will have to live with the consequences of his actions for the rest of his life and I would urge anyone who is tempted to get on a bike and ride it in such a way to think very hard about the potential consequences.”

The driver of the car that collided with the scooter drove away from the scene, but officers later found the Toyota Auris on a nearby driveway.

Checks on police systems revealed the 37-year-old was banned from driving until August 2020 and he was later jailed for eight weeks after admitting driving while disqualified, without insurance and failing to stop at the scene of an accident.

However, he was deemed not to have been responsible for the crash.

Kian’s mother Tina Richards said her son (pictured below) made a “stupid decision” to get on the bike, but said he would have steered clear had he appreciated its unsafe condition.

Halesowen News:

She said: “Kian always ensured he maintained his own bicycle properly and took great care of it. I know nobody made him get onto the back of that bike but he had no control over the way Brett rode it – he would have avoided it had he realised its true condition.

“Losing Kian has left a great big hole in my life, which will never be filled. I miss his attitude, I miss his smile, I miss his presence.

“I miss him asking me for a bowl of cereal every night, I miss waking him up for school every day, I miss seeing him play with his little sister.

“I will never get to see him go to his school prom, get married, have children of his own. I won’t get to see him open his Christmas presents ever again.

“His two-year-old sister keeps asking where Kian is and it’s really difficult trying to explain he’s not coming back.”