Mia Howarth, now 21, has had her jail term increased by a year and a half following an appeal by the Attorney General, who argued her original three-year sentence was inadequate punishment for causing the death of her teenage boyfriend.
On 12 September 2023, Howarth filmed 17-year-old Alfie Lovett hanging out of her car's passenger window while she was driving in North Yorkshire. York Crown Court heard in March that she then lost control of her Peugeot 107, causing it to veer off the road and crash into a wall near Brimham Rocks. Lovett died at the scene from fatal chest injuries despite passers-by attempting CPR.
Howarth admitted causing death by dangerous driving and was initially sentenced to three years in prison. However, the Attorney General referred the case to the Court of Appeal, arguing the term was "unduly lenient". On Friday, judges increased her sentence to four and a half years.
What were the circumstances of the crash?
Howarth, of Cooperative Street in Horbury, was 18 years old at the time of the incident. She was driving at 35mph (56km/h) along the rural road while carrying three 17-year-old male passengers and listening to "thumping music". After the vehicle collided with the dry-stone wall, Lovett, from York, became trapped between the wall and the vehicle.
The court also heard that Howarth had told the boys they must wear seatbelts and warned it would be "her fault" if they removed them during the drive to Brimham Rocks, a National Trust site near Harrogate.
Why was the sentence increased on appeal?
The Court of Appeal judges—Lord Justice Popplewell, Mr Justice Linden and Mrs Justice Hill—found that the original sentencing judge had made errors in his reasoning. According to the appeal court, the judge was wrong to reduce the sentence because of poor conditions in UK prisons and had applied too much mitigation for Howarth's age at the time of the offence.
Lord Justice Popplewell stated:
"We agree the judge fell into error in the way he applied a reduction for youth."The judges also noted there was only limited mitigation available due to a delay before Howarth was charged, though her legal representative argued this delay was unacceptable given that she had admitted killing Lovett at the roadside.
Kelly Brocklehurst, representing the Attorney General, told the court:
"We acknowledge there was a significant amount of mitigation, but ultimately it was a sentence that had to punish the offender and deter further acts."
What mitigating factors were presented?
Glenn Parsons, representing Howarth, described the case as a "profound tragedy" and argued that Howarth's grief was "overwhelming". He emphasised that she was "embedded" in the Lovett family and had been a good influence on Alfie, who had become a father just 12 weeks before his death.
Parsons also highlighted the delay in charging Howarth, which he characterised as unacceptable given her immediate admission of responsibility at the scene. However, the appeal court judges determined that these factors, while significant, did not justify the lenient original sentence.
Howarth appeared in court via video link from HMP Low Newton near Durham and sobbed during the hearing as the judges delivered their decision to increase her sentence.
Key Facts
- Mia Howarth's sentence was increased from three years to four and a half years by the Court of Appeal on Friday
- She was driving at 35mph in a rural area of North Yorkshire when she lost control and crashed into a wall on 12 September 2023
- The Attorney General referred the original sentence as "unduly lenient" for appeal
- Alfie Lovett, 17, died from fatal chest injuries sustained in the crash
- The appeal court found the original sentencing judge had made errors in applying reductions for the offender's youth and prison conditions
