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there was a nasty car crash in the city where i am from.
thrill seeker says mum
7:21am Monday 15th December 2008
Exclusive By Will Kilner »
The youngest victim of a crash that killed four friends had developed a thirst for the “buzz” of stealing and racing fast cars, his mother said.
She revealed that on the night of the accident she had warned them all not to take chances.
Tom Tilleard, aged just 15, was among four people killed when a stolen Subaru Impreza ploughed into a fish and chip shop and burst into flames in Killinghall Road, Laister , Bradford, last Thursday.
The other three victims have been named by police as Craig James, 17, James McLuskey, 21 and Robert Lynn, 16, all from Bradford.
Today Tom’s mother Linda Tilleard, of Lapwing Close, Lower Grange, Bradford, described how her son had “gone off the rails” in the weeks leading up to the tragedy.
She said: “My son was known to the police, but he went through the last eight months keeping himself out of trouble.
“Then he basically went off the rails again and they got into pinching cars. The four of them got together and were getting a buzz out of racing cars.”
Mrs Tilleard said her son and his friends would “brag” about their exploits on the computer through the MSN chatroom.
Recently, she saw Tom write a message that said: “Got a bizzy [police] chase – they couldn’t catch us!”.
She said: “It just shows they had no fear.”
On the evening before the early-morning collision, Mrs Tilleard issued a warning to her son – but her words went unheeded with tragic consequences. She said: “They were all round here on the night it happened and I told them to keep out of cars after something was mentioned about a Subaru they had got their hands on.
“Then when I saw the news and it was four lads in a Subaru who had crashed, I knew straight away that it was them.
“The news didn’t give out any names at that stage so I rang the police and said I believed it was my son in the car. They wouldn’t give me any information and I was left all day because it was under investigation and they couldn’t tell me anything.
“They told me to file a missing person’s report. I haven’t slept since it happened.”
Mrs Tilleard said she had been told her son was not driving at the time of the crash, but she added: “It’s irrelevant who was driving because they were all taking it in turns.”
Tom, who had Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), had not attended mainstream school since he was nine and was not in the habit of attending his pupil referral unit, according to his mother.
She said: “He was a little beggar but he was well-liked. He won’t be forgotten. He was motorbike mad really. Everyone knew him and he knew everyone all over the place – hundreds of people. He was popular.
“Tom didn’t go to mainstream school because he couldn’t cope with the classroom environment. He lived here with me and his little brother Joshua, who is 11.”
Mrs Tilleard said she had come to know one of the other victims, James McLuskey, once of Harrier Close, Lower Grange, quite well. She said: “James was pretty quiet. He was a likeable lad who would help you out.”
Police have not revealed the exact addresses of the four victims, but all of them have strong links to Lower Grange, while two were thought to be living in Holme Wood at the time of their deaths.
Daniel Dean, 30, of Eskdale Rise, Lower Grange, said: “I knew James quite well and I knew two of the others as well.
“He was an all right lad, not a bad lad at all – but easily led. He liked cars and was a bit of a jack the lad. I think he used to be into bikes as well.
“James was more of a follower rather than a leader. ”
The Independent Police Complaints Commission absolved police of any blame for the tragedy.
Police would like anyone who witnessed the collision to contact Bradford South Roads Policing Team on 0845 60 60 606.
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The youngest victim of a crash that killed four friends had developed a thirst for the “buzz” of stealing and racing fast cars, his mother said.
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