A 19-year-old man has been jailed for four years and eight months after pleading guilty to causing death by dangerous driving.

Jake Loy, from Moffat, was sentenced at the High Court in Glasgow and has also been disqualified from driving for eight years. He was driving a Honda Civic when it was involved in a crash with a Honda CRV around 12.20am on Wednesday March 16, 2022.

The crash, on the A711 near Cargenbridge, Dumfries, resulted in the deaths of Ian Cannon, Tyler Johnston and Finlay Johns – who were all aged 16 and from Moffat. Three men in the CRV were also seriously injured with two of them suffering life-threatening injuries.

The driver, aged 17 at the time, was also seriously injured and admitted to causing death by dangerous driving earlier this year. He had been driving on a provisional licence and wasn’t supervised when he lost control of his car.

Read More: 

The vehicle split in half from the force of the collision and the court had been told how one passenger had told friends on Snapchat that he was scared of Loy because of how he had been ‘swerving all over the place’.

Donald Findlay KC, defending Loy, told the court that his client had no memory of the crash due to a head injury and urged the judge not to hand down a prison sentence.

Judge Lord Harrower disagreed and told the court that he would have handed down a seven year sentence had it not been for the guilty plea made by the accused.

He said: “Your actual speed is unknown but the collision split it in two.

“The investigating officer was of the opinion that you must have been going much faster than the other car, which was driving at 60mph. I conclude you must have been driving in excess of the speed limit.

“Ian Cannon posted a message saying he was scared because you were swerving all over the place and you were a terrible driver and flooring it.

“Three young lives have been lost. Three other individuals sustained serious injuries.

“You sustained serious injuries. The deceased were all friends and you have shown remorse.

“The social work report highlights concerns raised in psychological assessments carried out between the ages of 12 and 17 years old.

 “In my view, there is no alternative to a substantial custodial sentence – albeit substantially less than for an older person.”

Road policing Chief Inspector Lorraine Napier said: "I would like to pay tribute to the families and friends of the three young men who lost their lives in this crash and thank everyone who worked so diligently to bring this case to a conclusion.  

"No conviction or sentence will ever reflect the impact the crash had on the families and friends of Ian, Tyler and Finlay but I hope it brings some measure of closure."

Moira Orr, Procurator Fiscal for Homicide and Major Crime, said: “This was a truly tragic incident, and our thoughts remain with all those involved.  

“Jake Loy chose to drive his vehicle despite not holding a full licence and being an inexperienced road user.  

“His decision to drive in the dangerous manner that he did has changed many lives forever.  

“We hope this conviction brings some level of comfort to the loved ones of the three young men who lost their lives as well as those who were injured.”