A young man is facing years in prison for causing the death of his girlfriend after he lost control of his new car that he was driving at excessive speeds.
Sam Barber, age 28, was driving a BMW he bought one day before the crash on March 12, 2022. His 20-year-old girlfriend, Beth Damer, was in the car as well. They were in Biggar, Lanarkshire, when Barber lost control of the vehicle—which reached 100 miles per hour—causing it to turn completely over onto its roof.
The driver recently pleaded guilty to one charge against him, that he caused a death by reckless driving. This came after a Glasgow High Court heard the tragic tale of the crash which claimed the young woman’s life.
The details were revealed amid information that the driver, who works in the forestry industry, has a record of speeding and reckless driving. Barber, who hails from the Scottish Borders, had six points on his driver’s license at the time of the crash. His sentencing is scheduled for October.
According to testimony heard by the court, Damer was with her boyfriend, whom she had been dating for one year at the time of the crash, to pick up his new car the night before the incident. She was a clinical support worker for the National Health Service (NHS).
The next day, witnesses described the new BMW as “shooting past” them when being driven, carrying the couple. One person who saw the car fly by said he “watched in disbelief,” guessing that the vehicle was already going over 90 miles per hour. This witness added that the road on which it was driving “is a camber,” making the high speed it was going “ridiculous.”
Another witness saw the BMW “losing control” prior to colliding with a fence and rolling over into a field. Barber was not incapacitated in the collision and flagged down help, with people hurrying to the scene. The door on the passenger side of the vehicle was torn off, leaving Damer trapped under the car.
The young woman was treated at the scene by a physician who was flown in via helicopter, but she died from her injuries. Barber sustained injuries from the crash and, according to a police officer, said the same day as the crash that he “hate[d] himself.”
