A young driver who killed two passengers as they were filmed "twerking" in the back of her Mini Cooper before it crashed has been jailed.
Adele Okojie-Aidonojie will spend 11 years in jail for causing the deaths of Rida Boutjettif and Mary Macharia by dangerous driving. The 23-year-old motorist had been drinking alcohol and driving at more than double the speed limit when her Mini Cooper overturned in Battersea, southwest London.
Mr Boutjettif, 24, and Ms Macharia, 23, were flung from the vehicle and died at the scene while the defendant's boyfriend, Ben Sidibe, suffered a fractured arm and a bleed to the brain. A court heard Jamaican music had been playing and he had taken a video of the two other passengers "twerking" in the back.
Just before the collision, CCTV showed the Mini travelling at 62mph before its wheels started to grind against the raised kerbstones on Latchmere Road and the car overturned. Okojie-Aidonojie, a student from Bromley, southeast London, was found guilty of two charges of causing death by dangerous driving and one of causing injury by dangerous driving following a trial at the Old Bailey.
In addition to her jail term, Okojie-Aidonojie was disqualified from driving for six years upon her release from prison. Following her conviction, the defendant accepted her driving was dangerous, having previously claimed it was merely careless.
In a letter read to the court, she wrote: "I'm really sorry for both the loss of Mary and Rida. I'm really sorry they were taken too soon and this was down to me. I miss them both very dearly. There is not a day that goes by I'm not thinking of them."
Addressing the victims' families, she added: "I hope that now you have a sense of closure and that you have received the justice you were seeking. You deserve that. I know I will never forget how happy they made me. Hopefully one day you will find it in your heart to accept my apologies and condolences."
She apologised to her then-boyfriend, Mr Sidibe, saying she hoped he was able to move one adding: "I never meant to hurt any of you."
Judge Richard Marks KC described the driver's conduct as "sheer madness" adding: "Especially moments before the collision, your two passengers to your knowledge had been standing up dancing."
He rejected the suggestion that someone in the back had tugged her arm, saying: "It is clear there was one reason and one reason only for this collision, namely the grossly excessive speed you were travelling." The judge also paid tribute to the victims' families who had been "utterly devastated at the untimely, tragic and needless deaths".
The court had heard how the defendant's Mini was going at least 62mph in a 30mph zone before it crashed on route from Clapham, south London, to Ladbroke Grove, in the west of the city, early on July 16 2022. Mr Boutjettif and Ms Macharia were not wearing seatbelts in the back and had been filmed dancing just before the incident.
Sally Mertens, prosecuting, said the defendant had gone with Mr Sidibe and Ms Macharia to pick up their friend, Mr Boutjettif, from a nightclub where he was working. Music, it was said, was blaring out of the car as the passengers danced before the crash.
The defendant told a witness at the scene: "Don't call the police or ambulance. I'll get arrested." She then initially claimed to a police officer the incident was a "hit and run".