Boy racer killed two elderly women who were best friends after driving at nearly 60mph on the wrong side of the road - then tried to blame his friend
Michael Gilligan, 19, had been racing cars down country lanes late at night
Driving 54mph on wrong side of road in no light when hit Honda Jazz
Christine Coates, 75, and Barbara Lea, 79, were on way home from bridge
Both died, Gilligan and passenger Chelsea Latham had internal injuries
Judge berated Gilligan for trying to claim Miss Latham, 18, was driving
Gilligan sentenced to six years in prison, seven years off the road
A 19-year-old driver who hit and killed two 'inseparable' elderly women after racing almost 60 miles an hour on the wrong side of the road has been jailed.
Michael Gilligan had been racing his friend's car through poorly-lit country lanes when he ploughed into the women leaving a bridge competition.
Christine Coates, 75, and best friend Barbara Lea, 79, were sent flying 17 metres backwards after colliding with the Vauxhall Astra on their way home and killed instantly.
Gilligan initially refused to accept he had been behind the wheel of his friend's car at the time of the fatal crash.
But the court heard he pressured car owner Chelsea Latham, 18, into giving him the keys when they met at a McDonald's restaurant earlier that night.
Speaking at the trial, Miss Latham, 18, who was sat in the passenger seat, recalled screaming 'you're going to kill us all,' as she begged Gilligan to slow down.
Today he was sentenced to six years in prison, banned from driving for seven years and ordered to take an extended driving re-test.
The pair had been seen racing friends in two other vehicles through Millewich and Sandbach, Cheshire, half an hour before the tragic incident on the A533 at 10.45pm on June 18 last year.
The next thing Miss Latham remembered was lying in the wreckage of her car.
In a move the judge branded 'despicable,' Gilligan originally pleaded not guilty, claiming Miss Latham had been behind the wheel.
He claimed he had 'no recollection of the incident' and initially refused a medical examination - but his DNA was found on the driver’s airbag which opened on impact.
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