Bentley driver killed girl, 12, after spending £900 on champagne at nightclub

A Bentley-driving trader who killed a girl after spending £900 on champagne has been jailed for 12 years.

Edward Tully, 30, got behind the wheel of his £150,000 car after drinking at a nightclub in Victoria, central London.

He drove six miles to get to his home in Barnet before hitting his 12-year-old victim’s family car when he jumped a red light.

Her mum and brother managed to get out of the car and as they called for help, Tully was heard saying ‘I am not going to stay here. We must go right now.’

Her brother told the court: ‘I feel like life could be over now. Nothing I do is with emotion. I have just been living. I feel really angry my little sister did not get to do what she wanted to do and what she loved.’

The girl – who cannot be named for legal reasons – was cut free from the car by a witness who then started CPR.

Meanwhile, Tully fled the scene on August 20, 2022, where he made multiple calls on his mobile phone.

His victim, who had been out to get an ice cream from McDonald’s with her family, was severely injured and died in hospital three days later.

Her dad, who is still wearing a neck brace, suffered severe injuries including two fractures to his spine.

He told Tully: ‘There is no desire to live now without my princess. I have been destroyed and feel so helpless. I wish I could have stayed at home that evening. I do not know how or when I will be able to live this way all the time. Now there is just suffering and nothing else.’

The girl’s mum said: ‘Life felt so complete and we were content and happy with the progress we were making. I miss her so much, I miss her touch and her love. I miss everything about her.’

Tully, who was already disqualified from driving, eventually handed himself in at Colindale police station but refused blood tests until he got legal advice.

He was linked to the scene by DNA found on the driver side airbag.

Sentencing Judge John Lodge said Tully’s decision to drink drive had caused ‘immense and endless grief’ for the girl’s family, and called his fleeing the of the scene ‘callous’ and ‘cowardly’.

Tully blew a kiss to his mother and waved as he was jailed for 12 years on one count and two years and eight months a second.

He must serve two-thirds of his sentence before he is eligible for release, after which he is banned from driving for 13 years.

Tully’s lawyer, David Spens KC, said he was ‘genuinely and profoundly’ remorseful, but said there was no evidence of dangerous driving before the crash and that Tully does not accept driving through the red light deliberately.

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