A 19-year-old has admitted to causing the death of three teenagers by dangerous driving after inhaling nitrous oxide and travelling at speeds of more than 100mph, a court has heard.
Thomas Johnson was behind the wheel of a BMW 3 series when the car crashed into roadside furniture and a tree, killing three passengers, on the A415 in Marcham last year.
At a hearing at Oxford Crown Court on Wednesday, prosecutor Neil Moore showed the court several short video clips recovered from the phones of those who had been travelling in the car in which a balloon, typically used to inhale the gas, could be seen “in the mouth of the defendant”, he said.
Mr Moore said: “It’s quite clear on the evidence that the defendant had been taking nitrous oxide from the canister with the assistance of a balloon to inhale it for some considerable time before the collision.”
One canister of nitrous oxide was found in the driver’s footwell and a further eight were found in the boot of the car, the court heard.
Elliot Pullen, 17, Ethan Goddard, 18 and Daniel Hancock, 18, were killed in the crash on June 20 2023.
The defendant, of Stainswick Lane, Shrivenham, spoke to confirm his identity and to enter his guilty plea on all three counts in front of members of the victims’ families.