Lleyton Van Spronssen pleads guilty to fatal Niagara Park crash while high on drugs

A young driver (top right) was on a cocktail of drugs when he lost control and ploughed into a tree. The impact killed his mate (bottom right) and injured three others, a court has heard.

Driver Lleyton Van Spronssen (top right) was on a cocktail of drugs when he lost control and ploughed into a tree. The impact killed his mate Rhys Morris (bottom right), a court has heard.

The full horrors of a crash which claimed one life and badly injured three others has been laid bare for the first time after the driver pleaded guilty.

Lleyton Van Spronssen, of Ourimbah, was in the “acute phases of intoxication” having taken 1gm of cocaine, MDMA and cannabis before piling into the driver’s seat of a friend’s car.

The 19-year-old faced Gosford Local Court on Friday where he pleaded guilty to dangerous driving occasion death and grievous bodily harm while travelling 45km/h above the speed limit.

Lleyton Van Spronssen, of Ourimbah, was granted bail to live with his mum Deanne Thatcher after a crash which killed one of his friends. Picture: Facebook

He also pleaded guilty to a number of other offences including driving under the influence of drugs, negligent driving and being a P1 driver with more than one passenger in the car after 11pm, which will be taken into account at his sentencing.

An agreed set of police facts states Van Spronssen was celebrating an 18th birthday at Central Coast Leagues Club on March 20 last year when he was seen to consume five beers.

He would later tell police he also consumed 1g of cocaine before he was refused service and kicked out of the club shortly before 2am on March 21.

The facts state he then went to a house party at Narara before getting behind the wheel of a friend’s silver Mitsubishi Lancer with three others to go and buy cigarettes.

Van Spronssen, of Ourimbah, will be sentenced in the District Court. Picture: Facebook

On the way he stopped to pick up a fourth passenger and after purchasing smokes at the Lisarow 7-Eleven, Van Spronssen started speeding along Washington Ave.

“The deceased also recorded a video of the offender driving,” the facts state.

“The video depicts loud music playing, and multiple people within the car yelling for the offender to slow down. The speedometer (from the view of the rear passenger side seat) appears to show a speed of 160km/h.”

About 4.20am Van Spronssen lost control on a right hand curve near Perrat Close and hit a tree and a timber pole.

The silver Mitsubishi Lancer after it collided with a tree and a pole. Picture: supplied

“At the time the vehicle left the roadway, the vehicle was travelling at approximately 134km/h,” the facts state.

Witnesses came to assist and Van Spronssen was helped out of the car, asking if everyone was okay.

Van Spronssen helped two injured passengers, both aged 17, from the car and apologised to one of them.

“The offender tried to get the deceased out of the car but someone told him not to touch the deceased because of his injuries,” the facts state.

“The offender began panicking, saying `I’ve killed the boys’.”

Rhys Morris, 17, was taken to a waiting helicopter at nearby Pluim Park but he was pronounced dead at 6.14am.

Rhys Morris, 17, was killed in the crash. Picture: Facebook

The three other passengers were taken to Royal North Shore and John Hunter hospitals with various injuries including one with fractured vertebrae and ribs.

Van Spronssen fled the scene and went home to bed only to be woken by his mother with police at his door a few hours later.

He later told police “I was just thinking of Rhys [deceased]. Because he, he, he wasn’t moving, his face was just full of blood, that’s all you could see. It was blood”.

Rhys Morris was killed in the crash. Picture: Facebook

“The offender admitted to police that he had been speeding and he had not hit the brakes fast enough, causing the car to slide out,” the facts state.

“At the time of the collision, the offender was under the influence of cocaine (and) MDMA to an extent that there would have been impairment of his driving ability. At the time of collision he would have been in the acute phases of intoxication.”

His toxicology results also showed he had cannabis in his system but not enough to impair his driving.

Van Spronssen will be arraigned in Gosford District Court on February 11.