The grieving mother of Crickhowell student Harry Webb told a court her “life ended on September 10, 2023” when a driver high on nitrous oxide struck her son on a London street, causing fatal injuries.

Pat Webb was speaking at the sentencing of 27-year-old Tiffany Treanor-Johnson, who has been sentenced to 10 years and nine months behind bars for causing death by dangerous driving. She was also given a 10-year driving ban after hitting 27-year-old music student Harry Webb in Hackney, London, in 2023.

Treanor-Johnson inhaled nitrous oxide before getting behind the wheel of her Audi on the evening of September 10, 2023, Snaresbrook Crown Court heard. She was later clocked doing 53mph in a 20mph zone before hitting cyclist Harry and driving off.

Mr Webb, an “intelligent and wonderfully caring drummer, musician, mathematician and philosopher”, was left with severe injuries and a traumatic head injury following the collision on Kenworthy Road.

After the collision, Treanor-Johnson continued driving and crashed into a red Citroen before continuing into Balance Road.

Driver was travelling at 53mph in 20mph zone

Mr Henry, the driver of the Citroen, said he had made eye contact with Treanor-Johnson and chased after her in an attempt to stop her after seeing a person being thrown into the air.

He said he seized her car keys, while one of the two girls travelling in the back of the Audi grabbed a bag before leaving the vehicle.

Treanor-Johnson was arrested at the scene, and police later found fragments of balloons in her car. The two passengers, Elise Ward and Tayla Ward, were seen by a witness taking nitrous oxide in the car.

Treanor-Johnson initially denied causing death by dangerous driving before eventually admitting her guilt in April this year.

Family calls for tougher action on road deaths

In a statement outside court, Mr Webb’s father, Mike, called for road crimes to be taken more seriously and enforcement to be stepped up.

He said: “Nobody should be killed cycling within a 20mph area. Road deaths are totally unacceptable.”

‘Harry has been robbed of his future’

In a victim impact statement, Mr Webb’s mother, Pat, said having him as a son was “the greatest honour”, adding that he made “a positive impression on everyone”.

She told the court: “My life ended on September 10, 2023, after receiving a call from the surgeon. We had just moved Harry into his new accommodation that day.”

She added: “How can someone smash into him and drive away? Watching someone you love die is an image you'll never forget.

“I cannot bear waking up without him every day. Each day is painful. The driver and passengers have shown no remorse in these past three years for killing Harry, leaving him to die on the road. Harry has been robbed of 50-plus years of his life, his future.”

Mr Webb’s friend George told the court: “Nothing could have prepared me for suddenly losing Harry.

“He was the most fun, intelligent, caring and wonderfully interesting person you could ever meet. I have been left devastated and will surely suffer to some extent with the loss of him for the rest of my life.

“I don’t think even in a text of similar length to Tolstoy’s War and Peace would I be able to properly describe how integral, influential and valued he was.”

Many of Mr Webb’s friends, along with family members, attended the hearing on Friday.

Judge Rosa Dean, sentencing, told Treanor-Johnson: “You are solely to blame for the collision.

“I am sure that you were probably impaired due to taking balloons.

“We must all hope that you truly are sorry.”