Liberty Mitchell: ‘Reckless’ driver who filmed herself speeding before fatal crash has sentence increased

Liberty Mitchell: ‘Reckless’ driver who filmed herself speeding before fatal crash has sentence increased She was driving on the wrong side of the road and nearly 40mph over the speed limit - Bookmark A “reckless” driver who killed two people in a car crash has had her sentence increased by more than two-and-a-half years. Liberty Mitchell, 21, of Chipping Norton, caused a pile-up on 2 December 2022 when she struck a taxi while trying to overtake three cars near Aldsworth, Gloucestershire. She was driving on the wrong side of the road, at nearly 100mph in a 60mph zone. The driver of the taxi, Octavian Codreanu, was pronounced dead at the scene. His passenger, history teacher Moyra Whelan, sustained life-threatening injuries in the crash and later died at Southmead Hospital. Six other people were injured, three of them seriously. Mitchell pleaded guilty to two counts of causing death by dangerous driving, two counts of causing death whilst uninsured, and three counts of causing serious injury by dangerous driving. She was sentenced at Gloucester Crown Court on 13 February 2026 to six years and eight months’ imprisonment. Attorney General Ellie Reeves KC then referred her case to the Court of Appeal under the Unduly Lenient Sentence scheme. Mitchell has now had her sentence increased by two years and seven months, to nine years and three months’ imprisonment. The court heard that the self-employed domestic cleaner was driving between jobs at the time of the crash. Her insurance policy did not cover use or business purposes. Videos of Mitchell filming herself while driving dangerously were discovered on her social media accounts during a police investigation. One video showed her speeding at 100mph, and another showed her veering to the opposite side of the road onto oncoming traffic. "Liberty Mitchell’s reckless actions behind the wheel claimed the lives of two people and left many others with life-changing injuries. My deepest sympathies go to the loved ones of Octavian Codreanu and Moyra Whelan, and to all those whose lives have been devastated by this tragedy,” Ms Reeves said. "The offender had previously filmed herself speeding and shared it on social media, showing disregard for the danger she posed to others. I welcome the Court of Appeal’s decision to increase her sentence, and I pay tribute to the emergency services who treated the injured at the scene."