According to Metro parents of a four-year-old girl killed in a hit-and-run clutched her teddy bear outside court after the driver who ran her down was jailed.
Violet-Grace Youens’ parents paid heartfelt tributes to their daughter, who was fatally struck by a stolen Ford Fiesta being driven by Aidan McAteer.
After the crash in St Helens, Merseyside, which left Violet’s grandmother Angela French badly hurt, McAteer and his passenger Dean Brennan ran past the dying girl.
McAteer, 23, pleaded guilty to causing death by dangerous driving and was jailed for nine years and four months.
Brennan, 27, admitted the aggravated taking of a vehicle and assisting an offender, and was sentenced to six years and eight months in jail.
During the emotional hearing, Violet’s father Glenn Youens said: ‘I go to bed every night cuddling her teddy bear, the bear she was holding every night. The bear still smells of her.
‘I cry myself to sleep. I miss her so much.
‘I go into her room and I read to her ashes every night, bedtime stories which she used to love.’
His wife Rebecca told the court: ‘We should be shopping for her school uniform, not her headstone.’
Outside court, Mrs Youens described her daughter as ‘funny, vibrant and caring’ and revealed she is an ‘inspiration to everyone’ having saved two lives through organ donation.
Liverpool Crown Court heard that McAteer and Brennan ran past the dying youngster after the crash on March 24.
The stolen car had been driving at 80mph in a 30mph zone and had travelled through red lights – with McAteer later admitting to police he is not a competent driver. Read More
