Moment cocaine-fuelled driver hurtled through quiet village just before mowing down and killing boy, 13, in hit-and-run – then tried to STOP medics from saving his life

This is the moment a cocaine-fueled driver sped through a quiet village just before hitting and killing a 13-year-old boy in a hit-and-run.

Teenager Kaylan Hippsley suffered multiple fatal injuries as a result of the collision in Hirwaun, South Wales, and died in hospital days later.

Harley Whiteman, 19, was driving the Ford Fiesta that struck Kaylan at around 6.15pm on February 29, as the boy stood with his friends outside a Co-op store.

Witnesses estimate the car was traveling between 40 and 60 mph when it tried to swerve from a car traveling in the opposite direction.

Shocking footage shows Whiteman driving down a quiet road, narrowly avoiding parked cars and narrowly stopping at an intersection.

Whiteman’s car mounted the curb and struck Kaylan with the side of the Fiesta, prosecutor Julia Cox said.

After the collision, the defendant allegedly stopped a student nurse who was performing CPR on Kaylan, saying, “Do you think I care about this kid on the ground? Why don’t you just fucking abandon him and get it over with.’

Bystanders tried to get Whiteman away when he became agitated and yelled at a man who asked him about his car. He replied, “I don’t know what you’re talking about… I don’t have a car, I don’t even drive.” The defendant also offered a fight to a man as Kaylan lay dying in the road.

Police attended and Whiteman had to be restrained when he was arrested, with police believing he was extremely drunk.

Ms Cox said the defendant was abusive to police and the public and showed no remorse for his actions, saying: ‘It was a good show.’

He was asked to take a roadside breath test and provide a breath and blood sample, but he refused to do so. When interviewed, Whiteman made no comment, but later told a probation officer that he had taken a line of cocaine and drank four pints of lager before the collision.

CCTV evidence showed Whiteman had been to The Cambrian pub in Aberdare and The Glancynon Inn in Hirwaun, where the landlord described the defendant as drunk and told him to leave due to his behaviour.

Kaylan died in hospital on March 3 after never regaining consciousness. He was a student of Aberdare Community School and was a keen football and rugby player.

He lived with his grandmother Kay Hippsley and lost his father at the age of six. He enjoyed playing with friends in the village and at the YMCA. Kaylan was described as a “cheeky guy” who was “polite, creative and kind.”

In a victim personal statement read to the court, Kaylan’s sister Olivia said: ‘There are no words I can use to properly describe the enormous horror inflicted on me and my family, and writing it down has caused unimaginable pain.

‘Every time I tried I was completely overwhelmed.

“No real justice can be served today. Harley Whiteman took something from our family that can never be given back. We live in fear that we will have to encounter him on the street, but we hope that it will be a long time before we have to deal with this.

“Kaylan was a bright, intelligent young boy who had his whole life ahead of him, he loved rugby and was loved by all who knew him. I fell to the ground screaming when I heard the worst news of my life, that Kaylan had been hit by a car, and my heart broke into a million pieces.

‘This happened in front of his friends, who had to watch their friend die in the worst possible way before their eyes.

‘I’m 19 years old and spend most weekends with my grandmother, who can’t be alone. Our father unfortunately passed away in 2018, the only thing I had left of my father was my younger brother.

‘Now I have to face the sadness and bear this alone […] I was hoping to work, but this is virtually impossible because I am constantly anxious and depressed […] I can’t pass the place where he was murdered, I can’t be in a hospital, I’m afraid of cars driving too fast and I don’t want to be in a car myself.

‘I can’t be alone, if I am my thoughts are 100 miles per hour. I’ve been sleeping in my mother’s bed for weeks, I have lost my appetite and can’t sleep. Every time I close my eyes, I see my brother’s dead body.

I felt guilty like I was abandoning him and at the funeral I had to be taken away from there by my family.

‘My grief is suffocating and I feel so alone that I can’t breathe. I feel guilty for being happy and ask myself every day: why Kaylan? Why a young boy who has done nothing wrong? Why not me? I wish it was me, I often wish I wasn’t there anymore.

“Kaylan didn’t die in a tragic accident, it wasn’t until someone took him from us, someone was blamed and is responsible, which makes it that much worse. That person is you (to Whiteman).

“You killed my 13-year-old brother, who had his whole life ahead of him, in the most dangerous situation, while driving under the influence with passengers in the car. You have shown no remorse.

“You have ruined far more than one life and as a result, you deserve to suffer the consequences.”

In her statement, Kaylan’s grandmother Kay Hippsley said: ‘Every time I leave the house since this happened, Harley Whiteman’s actions have changed my life and will never be the same. Not only did he take my grandson from me, he destroyed countless lives. Kaylan came to live with me eight years ago, which was a huge undertaking when I was in my 60s and I have severe rheumatoid arthritis. We lost his father and my son six years ago.

“Having him with me helped me overcome sadness and bring moments of joy into my life. He was a 13 year old boy who will never get the chance to live the life he deserves. It was devastating to get the call saying Kaylan had been hit by a car and everything changed from that moment on.

‘I can’t go home to my parents’ house. I went to the hospital and Kaylan’s funeral alone. I feel like Kaylan’s life is ending prematurely, and so does mine. I have no purpose in my life and I don’t know how to move forward.

‘I am so angry and devastated, I cannot put into words how this has affected my life and family. I can’t live with this and can’t find it in my heart to forgive Harley Whiteman. This will be a small chapter in his life, but Kaylan’s life is over and our family will carry the grief and sorrow into our dying days.”

Whiteman, of Cae Felin Parc, Hirwaun, pleaded guilty to causing death by dangerous driving and failing to provide a copy. The court found that he previously had good character.

In mitigation, James Hartson said his client was unable to explain his actions at the scene of the collision and was ‘shocked, disoriented and panicked’. The lawyer said the defendant’s regrets would stay with him for the rest of his life, and that he had lost his own father at the age of five.

Sentencing, Judge Jeremy Jenkins said: ‘(Kaylan) was killed by your blatant and callous disregard for the rules of the road and others around you. (Kaylan’s) injuries were described as unsurvivable.

‘On the scene your behavior was abhorrent and callous, and when you were arrested you were aggressive, unruly and unrepentant.

“Anyone who commits such a terrible crime as this commits a crime too serious to be treated with anything other than an immediate prison sentence.”

Whiteman was sentenced to six years and nine months in a young offenders institute. He was disqualified from driving for a period of eight years and four months.