A driver who crashed his car into a tree and killed his passenger while high on drugs and only holding a provisional licence has been jailed.

Camron Holmes was driving a Renault Clio while under the influence of three different drugs when it crashed into a tree in the early hours of August 7, 2025.

His passenger, 18-year-old Lauren Beaven, was seriously injured in the incident on a road between Greatham village and the A689 near Hartlepool, and she was pronounced dead a short time later.

Holmes, now 27, was found injured at the scene and appeared to be intoxicated. A roadside drugs wipe indicated a positive result for cocaine and cannabis, and he was arrested at the scene.

A hospital blood sample later confirmed the presence of controlled drugs well above the legal limits, including cannabis, cocaine and he was also sixteen times the legal limit for benzoylecgonine.

Flowers at the scene of a collision in Greatham Back Lane, Hartlepool, which claimed the life of Lauren Beavan.

placeholder image — Flowers at the scene of a collision in Greatham Back Lane, Hartlepool, which claimed the life of Lauren Beavan.

Holmes, of Mill Lane, Billingham, admitted causing death by careless driving whilst unfit through drugs and causing death by driving whilst unlicenced/uninsured.

He was jailed for eight years and banned from driving for 14 years at Teesside Crown Court on Monday (Jan 19).

In a victim impact statement read in court, Lauren’s mother, said: “My daughter Lauren Carol Rose Beavan, aged only 18 years old, barely still a child, she was a beautiful, selfless, kind, loving young lady who was always smiling and full of life.

“Her death has not took just one life, it has shattered and destroyed a whole family.

27-year-old Camron Holmes, of Mill Lane, Billingham | Cleveland Police

“A parent should never have to face losing their child, but we have and it has physically and mentally worn us to the ground.”

Detective Constable Rachael Johnson, of Cleveland Police, said: “Lauren’s family are living with the pain of losing their daughter in a collision that was entirely avoidable.“One man chose to drive whilst under the influence of drugs, and that decision has had irreversible consequences for them.

“I welcome today’s sentencing. It serves as a stark reminder of the consequences faced by those who make the dangerous decision to get behind the wheel whilst intoxicated through drugs. Driving under the influence is reckless, irresponsible and puts innocent lives at risk.

“The message is simple: if you take drugs, do not drive. Your actions behind the wheel can destroy lives.”